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Without thinking of the side-ladder, he dove off the rail. 
Frontispiece. See page 205, 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 

OR 

A CHRONICLE OF THE B. S. S. 
BRIGHT WING 

BY 

ARTHUR CAREY 


WITH ILLUSTRATIONS BY 

HAROLD JAMES CUE 


iNON-REFERfl 



awvAD-03S 


BOSTON 

LITTLE, BROWN, AND COMPANY 
1918 



Copyright^ 1918^ 

By Little, Brown, and Company. 
All rights reserved 

Published, September, 1918 



THE UNIVERSITY PRESS, CAMBRIDGE, U. S. A. 


AUG 17 1918 








p 

\ 



TO 

MY SHIPMATES 
ON THE 

BOY SCOUT SHIP 
PIONEER 


( 







' / 






PREFACE 

This is not a boys’ “book of adventure” 
but an imaginary chronicle based upon the 
setting of an actual cruise. It is believed 
that there are Sea Scouts who will recognize 
familiar surroundings and will recall the 
ideas which are associated with them ; and 
it is hoped that Land Scouts will feel, on 
the Bright Wing, the same spirit that they 
associate with the inspiration of the camp 
fire. 

A. A. C. 


[vii] 



CONTENTS 


Chapter Page 

I “After You, Pilot” ... 1 

II Getting Ready .... 16 

III Jack — Chief Boatswain’s Mate 28 

IV All Hands Aboard ! . . .40 

V The First Forenoon at Anchor 56 

VI Sports by Land and Water . 67 

VII Under Way for Marblehead . 81 

VIII The Salem Fire .... 92 

IX Scouts to the Rescue . . .103 

X In Marblehead Harbor . .113 

XI Dick’s Confession .... 126 

XII Another Meeting of the Club . 140 

XIII A Green Hand .... 148 

XIV The Key of the Keelson . . 158 

XV Seasickness 168 

XVI The Commandant’s Inspection . 185 

XVII Storm-Bound at Provincetown . 194 

XVHI A Clearing Sky and a Fresh Start 208 

XIX A Rescue 222 

XX ViNEY.\RD Haven .... 237 

XXI Disrating and Promotion . . 249 

XXH Friendly Things and a New Point 

OF View 259 

XXHI The Four Square Club . . 271 

XXIV A Guest of the Club . . . 282 



s 




» 


1 



s 


A 



I 


LIST OF ILLUSTRATIONS 


Without thinking of the side-ladder, he dove off the 

rail Frontispiece ^ 

PAGE 

He wet his thumb and held it up in the air to judge 

which way the wind was blowing . . . 52 ^ 

v" 

Dick dove forward on the ground to touch the base 70 

She seemed to be measuring the distance to a really 

secure footing on Dick’s shoulder . . .109 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


CHAPTER I 

“After You, Pilot” 

OAY, George, won’t you come down to 
^ the island this afternoon and spin us a 
yarn? You know we’re going to Boston 
to-morrow to ship on board the Bright 
Wing, and we want to talk things over; 
perhaps you could give us some extra 
points.” 

The speaker was Dick Gray, who had 
been an apprentice Sea Scout ever since 
the previous autumn, and was now about 
to take his first summer cruise on the Boy 
Scout ship with his two companions, Tom 
Sheffield and Chippie Smith. He was talk- 
ing to his brother George, a midshipman 
just home from Annapolis for his vacation. 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


and he naturally looked up to him as an 
authority in nautical matters. Besides, 
George had recently returned from a long 
trans-Atlantic cruise, and he had only 
just heard of Dick’s interest in the Sea 
Scouts. Much had happened since 
George’s last visit home, and Dick was 
eager to tell him all about it and to win 
his sympathy and approval. 

The headquarters of the three boys was 
a little shack on Duck Island, which formed 
part of the home farm, where, for a couple 
of years past, they had kept their pets and 
hatched all the plans for their various ad- 
ventures. 

George was a good deal older than Dick, 
and had recently — within the last few 
days — heard a story which had impressed 
him so deeply that his idea of all his duties 
as an officer had been changed and height- 
ened. When, therefore, Dick asked him 
to come down to the island and to spin a 
yarn to the boys, this story immediately 
jumped into his mind and he wondered 
whether he could tell it in such a way as 
[21 


AFTER YOU, PILOT 


to create in them the same feeling that it 
had aroused in him. 

“I wish I knew more about your Boy 
Scout business, Dick. Can’t you tell me 
something about it.?*” he asked. 

“Well, now,” answered Dick, “to pass 
for apprentice we have to know more 
knots than the Land Scouts do to pass for 
tenderfoot, and to swim twenty-five yards 
farther.” 

“That isn’t exactly what I’m after,” 
replied George. “I understand that the 
Land Scouts learn more woodcraft and 
such things than the Sea Scouts, and that 
the Sea Scouts are supposed to be more 
at home in the water. What I would 
like to know is what the Boy Scouts are? 
I met some one the other day who explained 
to me that there were two branches of the 
service — corresponding to the Army and 
the Navy — but he did not tell me exactly 
what the service itself was. Now, in the 
Navy, it’s our duty to defend the country 
by sea, and all our education is intended 
to make us efficient in seamanship and the 
[ 3 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


art of war. The object of the whole thing 
is just the same in the Navy as in the 
Army, except that the one fights by sea 
and the other by land. It’s the protec- 
tion and service of our country in either 
case, and both branches take the oath of 
allegiance,” 

“That’s it!” said Dick eagerly. “We 
have an oath, too, and it’s the same oath 
for the Sea Scouts as it is for the Land 
Scouts, I guess it’s the same for Boy 
Scouts all over the world ; although, of 
course, they use different words and speak 
in different languages.” 

George asked his brother to repeat the 
oath, and then he remarked : 

“I’m glad to know that oath, Dick. It 
has helped me to understand more about the 
whole thing.” 

“I’ll get you the manual,” said Dick, 
“and you can look that over and see for 
yourself what the law is.” 

“The law? Oh, I suppose that’s a sort 
of Regulations. Run and get me the book 
and I’ll come down and spin you a yarn 
[ 4 ] 


AFTER YOU, PILOT 


before supper time. When do you expect 
the other boys.^” 

“At four o’clock.” 

Dick ran off delighted, and hastened 
over to the island to put everything 
straight for the meeting in the afternoon. 
Then he came back to the house and 
telephoned to Tom Sheffield in the town, 
for fear he might possibly make a mistake 
in the time or forget to come, and asked 
him not to forget to bring Chippie with 
him either. 

They arrived on time, sure enough ; and 
George and Dick were already on the island 
to receive them. After they had squatted 
down on the floor of the shack, George 
lost no time in beginning. 

“Before I begin my yarn, fellows, I want 
to say that I have had a good talk with 
Dick about the Boy Scouts, and I have also 
been reading carefully the scout oath and 
law, and other things given in the manual. 
I understand more about it than I did be- 
fore, especially about the first point of your 
oath, which is: ‘To serve God and my 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


country, and to obey the Scout Law.’ In 
the Navy, we have to take an oath of alle- 
giance, too, but are supposed to serve our 
country principally through fighting, while 
you are trained to serve your country in 
all sorts of different ways. In the Navy and 
the Army we have to fight with shot and 
shell and cold steel; but this is not the 
only kind of fighting a fellow may have to 
do in order to serve his country. He has 
got to fight the evil in himself in order to be 
trustworthy, helpful, brave, and all the 
other things that your scout law requires. 
These things that you have to learn are 
the very foundations of service ; and, if you 
should engage in military work later on, 
your training in these things will make you 
far better soldiers or sailors than you 
otherwise would be. I can only say that 
I wish I had had such training before I 
went to Annapolis. The fact is, every man 
has to know how to fight, whether he is a 
soldier, or a sailor, or a civilian ; and, unless 
you know how to fight against meanness, 
and falsehood, and cowardice beforehand. 


AFTER YOU, PILOT 


you won’t make so good a military man or 
so good a citizen when the time comes.” 

“How about your story, George .?*” re- 
marked Dick. 

‘ ‘ All right,’ ’ replied George. ‘ ‘ Here goes : 
I was staying with my chum, John Stimson, 
over the week-end a while ago, and, as we 
were going in to dinner with his father. 
Admiral Stimson, I stepped back at the 
door to let the old gentleman pass, but he 
held out his hand and signed for me to go 
first — I suppose because he was my host. 
As he did so, he said with a smile, ‘After 
you, pilot!’ Of course I walked in ahead 
of him, in obedience to his order, but I 
couldn’t make out what he meant by 
‘pilot’, and the conversation was such that 
I could not butt in with a question about it. 
After dinner I got hold of John, who ex- 
plained to me that it was a custom in the 
Navy, commemorating the act of Captain 
Craven of the U.S.S. Tecumseh at the 
battle of Mobile Bay. 

“John said his father was never tired of 
telling the story, and was sure that he would 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


be glad to tell it to me then and there. He 
asked me to wait a minute while he went to 
his father’s study to find out, and returned 
in a few minutes with this message : ‘ By 
all means, — come in right away.’ 

“Well, boys, I wish I could tell it to you 
the way the old Admiral told it to John 
and me. But, as I can’t do that. I’ll just 
give you the facts : The Confederate fleet 
were up in the bay, protected below by 
strong coast fortifications on either side. 
The Tecumseh was the first ship in the line 
of Union vessels which were fighting their 
way up into the bay against the bombard- 
ment of the forts. Captain Craven was 
up in the turret with the pilot, who was 
pointing out the channel through the mine 
fields which had been carefully prepared 
by the enemy. But a mistake was made 
in the ship’s course which brought her into 
contact with a mine, striking her so that 
she went on her beam ends. 

“You understand what this means?” 
said George, after a little pause, and he 
held up his two hands to indicate the angle 
[ 8 ] 


“AFTER YOU, PILOT” 

to which the deck of the vessel would rise 
under the circumstances. 

“Then she settled down with a kind of 
shivering motion and began to sink as the 
sea flowed in through the gash in her 
side. 

“The inside of the turret was a small 
place and the two men shut up there were 
in close quarters. The only way out was 
the way they had come in, through an 
opening in the turret deck, like one of the 
manholes you see leading underground 
from the surface of the street.- There was 
a little ladder in this manhole, and only 
room enough for one man to pass at a 
time. As the vessel settled and sank, it 
was inevitable that the water should rise 
in the manhole and ultimately fill the turret. 
There was no time to lose if either one was 
to make his escape from the death trap. 
It must have seemed a long wait to the 
two men as they stood facing one another 
and taking in their situation. But it 
probably wasn’t as long as it seemed before 
Captain Craven pointed to the manhole 
[ 9 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


with the words that Admiral Stimson had 
quoted to me : 

“‘After you, pilot.’ 

“You see, boys. Captain Craven had a 
law similar to your scout law ; and, accord- 
ing to that, the captain of a sinking ship 
cannot think of saving himself until every- 
one else on board has been rescued. He 
obeyed this law of his calling without 
hesitation; and, when the pilot had made 
his escape down the manhole and been 
picked up and rescued, the water rose and 
filled the turret, and the captain went 
down with his ship. The whole thing 
could not have lasted more than a few 
minutes, although it must have seemed 
much longer; and, in that time. Captain 
Craven had maintained his honor and that 
of his country at the expense of his own 
life, while at the same time saving the life 
of another human being.” 

George had realized the scene with so 
much vividness as he told the story, that 
all the three boys present felt as if they, 
too, had witnessed Captain Craven’s act 


“AFTER YOU, PILOT” 

of heroism. Dick felt, somehow, as if 
the opening of the manhole were right 
before them in the middle of the floor of 
the shack, and all three of them shared in 
his feeling. There was a long pause during 
which they visualized that scene in the turret 
of the Tecumseh. 

George Anally broke the silence: 

“When the Admiral had finished, I sat 
back in my chair in a quiet kind of way, 
and after a while, the old gentleman 
spoke. 

“‘You see. Gray,’ said he, ‘Craven only 
did his duty ; but what enabled him to do 
his duty at that moment so nobly was the 
fact that he had done it hundreds of times 
before — again, and again, and again — 
in the ordinary affairs of his life and work. 
If he had been in the habit of shirking his 
studies, or of being mean to other fellows, 
or of yielding to fear in his ordinary life 
from day to day, he would have formed 
habits which would have made it difficult 
or impossible for him to be generous and 
manly when the supreme test came.’ 

[ 11 1 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


“I couldn’t say very much,” continued 
George, “except to thank the old gentle- 
man, — but I thought to myself, ‘You’re 
just such another one as Craven; and, if 
you were to ask me to cut off my finger, 
or my hand. I’ll be hanged if I wouldn’t 
do it.’ 

“Well, after that,” George went on, “I 
began to think about the Academy, and 
I seemed to see a thousand things that I 
might have done differently and better ; 
and it seemed to me that I could hardly 
wait until vacation was over to get back 
to my work. Maybe, when you come back 
from your cruise, Dick will write me a let- 
ter and say how you got on, but I advise 
you to do the same thing that I’m going 
to do, — to think of that story every day 
and to put more push into doing the things 
that my oath requires. 

“I suppose you fellows are going to 
have your meeting now, and I’ll go up to 
the house and unpack my trunk; I’ll see 
you again at supper.” 

There was another pause after George 
[ 12 1 


“AFTER YOU, PILOT 


had left the three boys, until finally Chippie 
remarked ; 

“I never thought of that before, fellows; 
but, when you do act in one way right 
straight along, you learn to do it better 
all the time. You remember a year ago 
I couldn’t knock up a ball decently; but 
I worked at it quite a lot, and the more 
I did it, the easier it came.” 

“That’s so,” remarked Tom, “and you 
can knock up about as well as I can, now ; 
but it seems kind of different with games 
and sports from what it does with other 
things that aren’t so much fun.” 

“You bet it is,” chimed in Dick; “my 
mother gave me a letter to mail last week, 
and I found it in the pocket of my jacket 
three days after — a scout is trustworthy, 
eh? I tell you what it is,” continued 
Dick, “you know we have called ourselves 
a club and nobody knows it but ourselves, 
and we’ve been stickin’ up for each other at 
school and in the town when other fellows 
have tried to pitch into us, and that’s all 
right. But it seems to me that we could 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


do more than that, and I’ll ask you two 
fellows to give me a dig in the ribs, — or if 
that doesn’t work — a punch in the nose, 
when you see me going to do a mean thing. 
I want to keep the scout law and my oath 
as much as I want anything, and I don’t 
see why you shouldn’t help me do that as 
well as to stick up for me when some other 
cove calls me names behind my back ! ” 
Chippie and Tom looked at each other for 
a moment, and finally exclaimed together : 
“Gee!” 

“Then,” answered Tom, “why shouldn’t 
we all do the same thing ? You know how 
hard it is to do things on time ; and there’s 
no ‘being trustworthy’ unless you do. So 
Chippie, you and Dick just kick me out of 
bed when it’s time to get up, and I’ll be 
much obliged to you. Dad says I’m lazy, 
and I know he’s right, but I’ve got to learn 
to keep this scout law — or bust ! ” 

All three assented cordially to the idea 
that they should join forces as brothers- 
in-arms against everything that stood in the 
way of their scout duty. 

[ 14 ] 


“AFTER YOU, PILOT” 

“I say,” cried Chippie, “this is what I 
call a club ! And, see here, there are just 
three of us. Why not call it The Triangle 
Club?” 

“And I vote,” said Tom, “we make this 
our motto: 

“After you. Pilot !” 


1 15 1 


CHAPTER II 


Getting Ready 

rpWO weeks before the founding of the 
Triangle Club, referred to in the last 
chapter, Ship’s Company Number 1, of the 
Sea Scouting Branch of Northbridge Boy 
Scouts, were holding their last meeting in 
their regular assembly room before the 
beginning of the summer cruises. 

The B.S.S, Bright Wing was to sail from 
the Boston Navy Yard in just two weeks, 
and some of the younger boys were already 
beginning to feel that they must get their 
sea legs on so as to “be prepared.” 

Dick Gray showed keen interest and 
great enthusiasm for this new venture in 
scouting ; and because he was a good swim- 
[ 16 1 


GETTING READY 


mer and loved the water, he hoped to 
prevail upon his father to apply for a 
berth on the Bright Wing during her first 
cruise of the season. He was a pains- 
taking boy, and had always been useful 
about the house since he was “knee-high 
to a grasshopper.” His mother, though 
not an invalid, was very far from being 
robust ; and, as Mr. Gray could not afford 
many servants, her household duties might 
often have been too much for her if Dick 
had not been there to take hold and lend a 
hand. Though not tall for his age, he was 
strongly built, and, if it had not been for 
occasional dark and gloomy moods, he 
would have been almost indispensable both 
in the house and on the farm. Naturally, 
every one was glad when they heard that 
there was a chance for Dick to go on a real 
cruise, for they knew that the boy’s personal 
interests — however willing he always was 
to keep them in the background — all lay 
in the direction of seafaring. 

“I do hope,” said old Robert, the farm 
hand, to Mr. Gray, “that boy will get his 
[ 17 1 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


chance at the sea, this year ! He does 
deserve it, if ever a boy did.” 

“Yes,” replied Mr. Gray, much pleased 
with Robert’s approval of his son, “I 
think it will do him good. He’s a good 
home-body, we know, but we don’t know 
how he’ll turn out as a sailor among a lot 
of other boys; I can’t be sure how he’ll 
behave away from home when one of his 
‘moods’ comes over him.” 

While Mr. Gray liked Dick’s enthusiasm, 
he felt that he ought to find out as much as 
possible about the conditions of the life on 
board before making a decision, and that is 
what had brought him this evening to one 
of the regular Sea Scout meetings, to learn 
for himself, as much as he could, what the 
idea and the spirit of the undertaking really 
were. After he had been greeted by the 
scout master in charge — Mr. Howard Miller 
— while the boys all stood at attention — 
one of the older scouts. Jack Perkins, was 
detailed to stand by and give him all the 
information he possibly could. 

Jack had been a boatswain’s mate for 
[ 18 I 


GETTING READY 


two summers running, and there was noth- 
ing he enjoyed more than explaining the 
details of the work to a new acquaintance ; 
so he placed two chairs for himself and Mr. 
Gray on the low platform at the rear of 
the hall, where they could command a full 
view of all the proceedings, and then began 
talking to him in a low voice ; 

“You see, sir, the room here is arranged 
so as to be as much like the deck of a ship 
as possible. This broad platform that we 
are sitting on, with the colors hoisted in 
the center, is the ‘quarter-deck’ where 
only senior officers are allowed, with the 
exception of Sea Scouts on watch and of any 
seaman whose duty brings him here. That 
door over there, by which we came in, 
stands for the vessel’s bow, because it is 
just opposite the quarter-deck; but this 
is only so in a general way to indicate the 
direction of bow and stern, or ‘ fore and 
aft,’ because it is also used as the gangway 
by which every one passes over the ship’s 
side either to come aboard or leave the 
vessel.” 


[ 19 1 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


“I understand,” said Mr. Gray. “I 
must confess that I did not know that I 
was stepping over a ship’s side when I 
passed through the door a few minutes 
ago!” 

“WTiy!” exclaimed Jack, “didn’t you 
hear the boatswain’s call as you entered 
the room, sir.'*” 

“Sure enough, sure enough,” said Mr. 
Gray. “I heard a whistle with a peculiar 
musical trill, but I did not know what it 
meant.” 

“Well, sir,” said Jack, with a certain 
quiet dignity, “that is the salute that is 
always given to visiting officers when they 
come on board,” 

Mr. Gray’s face lit up with a smile of 
intelligence. “Well, to tell the truth, I 
did feel something pleasant ; and, now that 
I think of it, you boys were standing at 
attention at that very time when Mr. Miller 
came up and shook hands with me.” 

“That’s right, sir,” said Jack. “We 
older Sea Scouts like these little bits of 
ceremony, especially because it’s just what 
[ 20 1 


GETTING READY 


happens when we are aboard the old 
Bright Wing, and brings back the taste of 
the salt water and the feel of the breeze on 
your face.” 

“I see — I think I understand,” said the 
older man with a pleasant smile, and look- 
ing down the room, his smile broadened 
as he took in the bright and cheerful scene 
before him. 

The Sea Scouts were all in their white 
jumpers and hats, for the idea of a ship’s 
deck of course included that of “out of 
doors ”, and hats were only removed when 
something happened, like the arrival of a 
mother or sister. 

The boys were grouped according to 
their sections (corresponding to patrols), 
in four little knots, each surrounding a 
table at which one of the boatswain’s 
mates, the scout master, or some other 
instructor, was presiding. They were sit- 
ting around their little tables like Land 
Scouts around a camp fire, listening and 
talking in low tones, so as not to interfere 
with what was going on in the other groups. 

[ 21 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


One set of boys was tying knots and splicing 
bits of rope with a marlinspike made by 
themselves out of good hard wood. Dick 
had done so well with his knots that he had 
been put in charge of this group in the 
absence of the regular instructor. At an- 
other table a chart was spread out, and the 
parallel rules and dividers were traveling 
back and forth over the ocean amid con- 
tented murmurs and eager questions from 
the boys. In another corner the boat- 
swain’s mate was putting his men through 
an informal examination in signalling. The 
whole scene, while very varied and ani- 
mated, had the delightful atmosphere of 
combined activity and contentment. 

Mr. Gray felt that every boy there was 
having a good time, and could not help 
catching the contagion of contented work. 
He made some further inquiries of Jack, 
and learned that each section rarely was 
kept on one subject more than twenty 
minutes or half an hour at a time, and 
that the instructors went from one group 
to another. 


[ 22 1 


GETTING READY 


“You see, sir,” said Jack, “this is not 
intended to be like school, and we don’t 
want to keep a scout working at one thing 
until he gets tired of it. It is something 
like feeding your dog ! He should have an 
appetite for more at the end of every meal.” 

Mr. Gray sat musing quietly for a few 
minutes while his mind wandered back to 
his own boyhood. “I wonder,” thought 
he, “that there was nothing of this sort 
in existence when I was a boy ! ” Presently 
he turned to his companion with the ques- 
tion, “What is that green light in the right- 
hand corner and the red one on the opposite 
side?” 

“Those are the starboard and port side- 
lights, sir, that are always run up at sunset 
when under way, and it is good for the new 
fellows to get used to their right position 
before they go to sea. I think you re- 
member things by pictures in your mind 
better than you do by words. You see, sir, 
the boys have to light and lash these lamps 
in their proper places before every meeting ; 
and then, when ‘Colors’ are over and the 
[ 23 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


boatswain blows ‘stow away all gear’, the 
lamps and all other things have to be taken 
down and properly stowed away. That’s 
another thing, sir, I learnt from sea scouting 
that no one could ever pound into me on 
land. Before I went to sea I was the most dis- 
orderly lubber you ever set your eyes on ; but 
on a ship there’s just so much space allowed 
to every man, and so every one is obliged to 
have a place for everything and everything 
in its place. Some fellows laugh at me now, 
but it makes me feel funny if I don’t find 
my shoe brush hanging on its own hook. 
If the fellows did not feel that way aboard 
ship, the whole place would be a mess and 
a litter in no time, and none of the gear 
would be in its place when needed; it 
would certainly cause delay and confusion, 
and might sometimes even be dangerous. 

“These two groups on the right-hand 
side of the hall, where the green light is 
placed, are the two first sections of each 
division; and the other two, on the left- 
hand side as we face the door, are the two 
second sections of each division, on the 
[ 24 ] 


GETTING READY 


same side as the red side-light. Of course, 
you understand, sir, that these are the four 
sections of a ship’s company as they stand 
on the deck of the Bright Wing, — each 
one being also the regular crew of one of 
the cutters or of the launch.” 

Mr. Gray nodded assent, and then said 
with a laugh, “You mustn’t tell me any- 
thing more to-night, my boy, for I have 
taken in enough for one evening. You have 
given me a great deal to think about, and 
I am happy to believe that Dick — ” 

Just then the bugle rang through the 
hall, and, after a few sharp words of com- 
mand from the scout master, the boys fell 
into formation for “trooping the colors.” 
Each section was represented by its color 
bearer and color guards, while the rest of 
the ship’s company were drawn up on 
either side fore and aft. At the word of 
command the section colors were marched 
up to the quarter-deck, two on each side 
of the national ensign, facing one another. 
Then the whole company present faced 
about towards the Stars and Stripes while 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


the bugler sounded “Evening Colors.” 
At the final salute the section colors were 
smartly dipped, while every man’s hand 
was raised to his hat, and the color bearers 
marched down again to their places in 
formation. 

All hands were then dismissed, and the 
formal activities came to a close. Only 
one thing remained to be done, and that 
was the stowing away of all gear. Mr. 
Miller stood with watch in hand while the 
boatswain piped the order, and Mr. Gray 
noticed Dick rushing across the hall to 
stow away the ship’s bell, while other boys 
were carrying the side-lights, the bill- 
boards, and all the other articles for which 
they were responsible. Presently Mr. 
Miller’s voice rang out: “One minute and 
fifty -two seconds! Record time!” 

Just then Dick came running up to his 
father. “Well, Father, what do you say 
about the Bright Wing — don’t you think 
this is just about right?” 

Mr. Gray assented smilingly and said : 
“I tell you what, Dick, if you will get this 
[ 26 ] 


GETTING READY 


young man here to give you a little coaching 
before you go aboard, — well, I have noth- 
ing more to say.” 

For about a second Dick seemed struck 
dumb with pleasure, while his eyes sparkled. 

“Sure!” cried he, “won’t you. Jack? 
Say, when can I come around and see you ? 
and may I bring Tom Shefiield and Chippie 
Smith along, too ? ” 

Jack thought for a minute and then 
turned to Mr. Gray. “I will be glad to 
help them all I can, sir. Dick, you come 
around with the other fellows to-morrow 
after supper.” 

“ Gee ! ” Dick seemed to grow two inches 
taller in the next minute, and then rushed 
off to find Chippie and Tom. 


CHAPTER III 


Jack — Chief Boatswain’s Mate 
next evening Jack cleared the table 



for his mother after supper and got 
the dining room all snug and shipshape. 
His own room was very small and at the top 
of the house ; and, as his mother had offered 
to bring in some refreshments for the boys 
later in the evening, Jack asked permission 
to hold his meeting in the dining room. 

His father had gone out to his Lodge, 
and Mrs. Perkins was very much interested 
in Jack’s interview with the younger boys. 
Her father had been a sea captain, and there 
was a picture of one of his ships hanging 
over the mantelpiece in this very room. 
Some beautiful large shells which he had 
brought home from one of his voyages 


JACK — CHIEF BOATSWAIN’S MATE 


stood over the fireplace, under the picture 
of his vessel, the Sally Smart — an old- 
fashioned clipper ship — famous in her 
time for her speed and style. The whole 
room had a somewhat nautical flavor ; 
and in one corner was a low long lounge 
with a broad shelf partially overhanging 
it, which gave the general appearance of a 
ship’s bunk. 

When Jack had won the cup for the broad 
jump, representing the Northbridge High 
School, Mrs. Perkins, in her motherly pride, 
had put the pewter cup alongside of her 
father’s shells on the mantelpiece. 

It was a warm, spring evening. The 
scent of the lilacs was wafted in through the 
open door, and Jack could hear the boys’ 
footsteps as they came through the door- 
yard up to the porch. He met them at the 
door and led them into the dining room. 

“You come right in here, kiddies, and 
make yourselves at home. You might as 
well get into the bunk there in the corner, 
all of you, and be as comfortable as you 
can before I begin with you, for I hope to 
[ 29 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


get you good and tired by the time I get 
through !” 

The small chaps could not help feeling at 
ease under the influence of Jack’s cordiality. 
He was really glad to see them, and they 
knew it, and so they took him at his word, 
and all three — Dick, Tom, and Chippie — 
snuggled into the bunk together, half 
sprawling and half sitting, like a litter of 
young pups. 

“ Fire away now,” cried Dick, “ we don’t 
care whether school keeps or not; and, 
whatever you’ve got to say, I guess we can 
stand it ! ” 

“Well,” replied Jack, “joking apart, I’m 
feeling pretty well this evening myself, for 
I have just had news from Mr. Miller 
that I am appointed Chief Boatswain’s 
Mate of the Bright Wing for the flrst cruise. 
Now, you lazy lubbers, take notice that the 
Chief Boatswain’s Mate is the father of the 
crew, and you’ve got to mind what I tell 
you, or you will have to stand on the seam, 
or walk the plank, or do anything else that 
Dad says.” 


JACK— CHIEF BOATSWAIN’S MATE 


All this was said so good-naturedly that 
even Chippie, the youngest, was encouraged 
to answer back; so he called up with his 
small voice out of the recesses of the bunk : 

“Gee, boys, he talks as if he were the 
Captain and Mate and the Admiral of the 
fleet all at once; but I guess he means 
well enough ! ” 

“Good luck to you. Boatswain’s Mate,” 
called out Tom, “it’s a good thing to get 
some of your ideas ahead of time, and then 
we’ll know what to expect.” 

“Say,” said Dick, “aren’t there any 
officers above you, or are you and the crew 
the whole show.'*” 

Jack sat listening to these flying remarks 
with quiet satisfaction. “No matter what 
I am, — you’ll find that out soon enough ; 
but I’ve been thinking myself that there is 
nothing like ‘being prepared* when you 
have a good job ahead of you. I shall have 
to see that you lubbers are licked into shape 
the first or second day on board, and I 
might as well begin now, and so have more 
time for the others later on ! — See ? 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


“But, before we begin, I’d like to find 
out whether you know what ‘standing at 
attention’ means; for if you get that right 
from the start, it will save you and your 
officers a lot of bother.” 

The boys began getting up out of the 
bunk; and, before they had all stood up. 
Jack gave the command “Attention!” 

All three were on their feet in an instant, 
and then Jack formed them in line and made 
his inspection. 

Dick, in his eagerness, was stiff and 
leaning over backwards; Tom stood fairly 
erect with chest up, but his fists were 
clenched ; and Chippie stood with one foot 
about six inches ahead of the other. None 
of them looked straight ahead with quiet 
eyes. 

Jack corrected all these mistakes very 
carefully, impressing upon each one the 
necessity of practising by himself until he 
could stand with heels together, chest up, 
back erect, little fingers on the side seam of 
trousers, and eyes looking straight ahead, 
without thinking of the details, but, as it 
[ 32 ] 


JACK — CHIEF BOATSWAIN’S MATE 


were, automatically. Then he gave the 
command “At Ease!” and explained that 
they could take any position they chose, 
provided that one foot remained in the 
same place. 

“Now tumble into your bunk again, for 
weVe lots more to talk about. When you 
get home, look up the subject of ‘Eti- 
quette’ in the pamphlet, ‘The Organization 
of Sea Scouts’, and there you can find out 
when you are supposed to stand at attention, 
and how to salute, with a few other neces- 
sary things.” Jack then drew himself up 
with an air of great authority : “Ladies 
and Gentlemen, I will now proceed with 
my instructions to this pirate crew. The 
subject will be divided into three parts : 
The first. Officers and Petty Officers ; 
second, the Plan of the Deck ; third. 
Etiquette and ‘A Sailors’ Cheer.’ 

“Number one: I have been asked 
whether there are officers higher in rank 
than myself. It might have occurred to 
the intelligent inquirer that — the — Cap- 
tain — is — in — charge — of — the — 
[ 33 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


vessel. All orders come from or through 
him; but, just as on board a man-of-war, 
the Secretary of the Navy would be higher 
in rank than the Captain ; — so, on board 
a Boy Scout ship, the Chairman of the Sea 
Scouting Committee outranks the Captain. 
Under the Captain are the Mate and Sea 
Scout Master of equal rank, the First Mate 
being the Captain’s assistant in sailing 
the vessel, and the Sea Scout Master being 
in command of the crew of boys. For the 
rest of the organization I refer my audience 
to the same interesting pamphlet, ‘ The 
Organization of Sea Scouts.’ My own 
responsible office, upon which I will permit 
no reflections, is that of the first of the four 
Boatswain’s Mates, or the Chief Boat- 
swain’s Mate, as I think I have before 
remarked. I am in command of the first 
section of the first (or forward) division in 
particular, and of all four sections in general. 
I am the chief Boy Officer; but, while 
occupying this exalted position, I recognize 
the authority of my superiors and the 
authority of the scout law. I am imme- 
[ 34 ] 


\ 



jH' 

L Quactec-deck (aft of 
dotted line, in dicection 
of accows). 

2, Cabin Companionway 
a Crew’s Day Sunk. 

4 . Side Ladders. 

5 . Berth* deck Compan- 
ionway 

6. Forecastle Companion- 
way. 

7 Jib Netting. 

a Mainmast. 

9. Foremast. 

JO. Windlass, 

a. b, c, d. regular posit- 
ions of the four sections 
at quartern 


Sketch 9/* Deck Plan 
9/* the 

Soy ScoutShip 

“Scight 0ing” 






JACK — CHIEF BOATSWAIN’S MATE 


diately responsible to the Sea Scout Master 
and his assistants, but may also receive 
orders from the Boatswain, the Mate, the 
Captain, and the Chairman of the Com- 
mittee. If I were to get a ‘swelled head’ 
and refuse to obey orders (which is im- 
possible, I trust), it would be the duty of 
the First Mate to deal with me in the tradi- 
tional manner of first mates on all self- 
respecting vessels. 

“Number two: I have drawn up a dia- 
gram of the ship’s deck, showing the posi- 
tion of the quarter-deck (Number 1) ; 
the cabin companion way (Number 2) ; 
the crew’s day bunk (Number 3) ; the 
side ladders (Number 4) ; the berth deck 
companionway (Number 5) ; the fo’castle 
companion way (Number 6) ; and the jib 
netting (Number 7) ; the latter being an 
airy place suspended between sky and sea, 
where sleepy scouts off duty can take a nap 
after dinner. 

“Gentlemen will please copy this dia- 
gram, so that, if necessary, they will be 
able to reproduce it in their sleep and find 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


their way about the deck in the dark. 
There are many other things to learn about 
the ship, both inside and out, but this is 
just to give you a start. I shall be glad to 
answer any questions at the proper time.” 

A confused mixture of voibes came out 
of the bunk. The boys had become much 
interested in Jack’s lecture, and three 
pairs of eyes gazed out upon him from 
the dim light, one pair peering from under 
a shock of red hair belonging to Chippie 
Smith; one black pair that belonged to 
Dick; and a blue pair that shone out of 
the freckled face of Tom’s cropped towhead. 

“Say, who’s the chairman.?” 

“What’s a companionway ?” 

“What are the side ladders for?” etc., 
etc., etc., etc., and right in the middle of the 
uproar. Jack rose and gave the command 
^‘Attention!” All sprang from the bunk 
and stood facing the door from the kitchen 
which had just swung open. Mrs. Perkins 
stood in the doorway with a tray in her hands, 
upon which were a pitcher of lemonade and 
some hot gingerbread, fresh from the oven. 

[ 36 ] 


JACK — CHIEF BOATSWAIN’S MATE 


All the boys stood as quiet as mice until 
she had deposited the tray on the table. 
When Jack had thanked his mother, he 
gave the command “At Ease!” and she 
turned to the boys, almost with anxiety, 
to find out whether Jack had made his 
talk pleasant and interesting. 

She had a sailor’s blood in her veins, 
and she knew that a ship’s company must 
be a happy one if it was to do anybody any 
good. So she seconded Jack’s efforts with 
the true sailor’s cheer and the boys felt 
nothing but pleasure and enjoyment in 
connection with their little taste of drill in 
nautical knowledge. They all sat down to 
their supper, but Jack reminded the boys 
that he had not reached the third point 
of his lecture, namely that of Etiquette, 
and then asked his mother’s permission to 
round up the evening’s instruction, which he 
did quite simply and without any more 
mock heroics. 

“Now the next thing I want to tell is 
about the quarter-deck. You see, boys,” 
he said, “in ancient times every ship carried 
[ 37 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


a crucifix high up aft, and the National 
Ensign was flown just below it. These 
two symbols represented together the idea 
of God and the King, and therefore were 
saluted whenever a man passed over the 
side, either on arriving aboard or leaving 
the ship, and whenever a man came up 
from below on to the deck. We preserve 
the same custom now both in our Navy and 
on Boy Scout ships ; because, although the 
crucifix and the King have disappeared, the 
ideas of God and our country always remain, 
and the custom of saluting the quarter-deck 
— whether the flag is flying at the time or 
not — is an expression of the first words of 
the scout oath : ‘ On my honor I will do my 
best to do my duty to God and my country’’' 
It was interesting to note the change in 
Jack’s manner as he solemnly repeated 
these words. Any one could have seen 
that he regarded them as very important 
and as expressing an idea to be held in 
reverence. The younger boys listened 
attentively and, after a little pause, during 
which his words seemed to be sinking into 
I 38 ] 


JACK — CHIEF BOATSWAIN’S MATE 


their minds, they thanked Jack for giving 
them such a good send-off, and then thanked 
his mother with real gratitude for her 
friendliness and the good little supper which 
they had so much enjoyed. 

All hands parted in high spirits, full of 
expectation of the time when they should 
actually tread the deck of the Bright Wing. 

As they were going home, Tom suddenly 
said: “Gee, I guess I’ll get up an hour 
earlier to-morrow morning and work on 
that diagram ! ” 

“Say,” said Chippie, “he didn’t tell us 
the positions of the four sections on the 
deck; I’d like to mark them on my draw- 
ing. I’ve half a mind to go back and ask 
him now !” 

“Oh! come along,” said Dick, “it’s too 
late; my Dad says you mustn’t drive a 
willing horse too far.” 

“All right, Dick!” 

And so they separated, each one to his 
own home and bed, to dream of bunks, and 
quarter-decks, and companionways, all 
mixed up together. 


CHAPTER IV 

All Hands Aboard ! 

/^N Tuesday, the twenty-third of June, 
the Bright Wing lay in the berth 
assigned to her at the Navy Yard, all pre- 
pared to set sail at noon. There was a 
moderate breeze down the harbor, the tide 
was high at eleven o’clock, and all she would 
need would be a tow out for a mile or so to 
get out of the way of the shipping. 

Everything was shining on board. The 
ship carried a new suit of sails, and her 
paint and bright work were all gleaming 
in the sunlight. At the fore topmasthead 
the Boy Scout flag was rippling, and at 
the main truck the long pennant was waving 
gracefully. The ensign did not catch the 
wind so well, being under the lee of a big 
1 40 ] 


ALL HANDS ABOARD! 

battleship docked close by. Everything 
looked as if the Bright Wing were chuckling 
to herself in anticipation of her coming 
venture. 

The three Northbridge boys had come 
up by the early train, accompanied by Mr. 
Sheffield and Tom’s sister Eleanor, and 
Chippie had immediately gone below to 
hunt up his locker, where he was putting 
the contents of his sea bag in order. The 
other two boys remained on the dock, taking 
in the scene before them with pride and 
pleasure; Dick talked with Mr. Shefiield 
about different points of special interest, 
while Tom’s beaming face spoke more 
eloquently than words as he and Eleanor 
listened to the conversation. 

“She’s like a duck in the sunshine!” 
said Dick. 

“Yes, right after her morning dip,” said 
Tom. 

Presently Mr. Sheffield and Eleanor bade 
the boys good-by and Tom and Dick 
jumped on to the deck. 

Some of the other boys had come on 
[41 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


board the night before and had already put 
their lockers in order and got into their 
white uniforms. Dick and Tom received 
their individual “station billets” upon 
which they found all the information as 
to their bunks, lockers, divisions, sections, 
and special duties in the different emer- 
gency drills, written out clearly, so that 
they could set to work at once to find out 
where they belonged, what was expected 
of them, and how to make themselves 
comfortable. 

At a quarter to eleven the boatswain’s 
pipe was heard, loud and clear, and the 
order “all hands aboard” rang out. The 
few scouts who were left on the wharf cut 
their good-bys short and quietly clambered 
down the ratlines or jumped on to the deck. 
Then the gangway was hauled up, the 
hawsers released, and the Bright Wing 
sat, like a gull, free in the water. In the 
meantime the Government tugboat had 
backed up within easy distance and thrown 
her line on board ; and, as the vessel drifted 
into the channel, the tug got under way. 


ALL HANDS ABOARD ! 


the line tightened, and the Bright Wing 
followed in her wake. 

The regular watch were at their posts ^on 
deck as a matter of course, — the lookout 
in the bow, the boatswain’s mate with 
his quartermaster and other seamen just 
in front of the quarter-deck, while the 
rest of the boys climbed up the rigging, 
shaking their hats in final farewell to their 
friends ashore. 

It was not long, however, before they 
were far enough out in the channel for the 
tug to leave them. Jack Perkins was in 
the bow in charge of the line ; the Captain 
was at the wheel ; Jack was waiting for the 
order to “let her go”, and, as soon as the 
words reached his ears, he cast off the line 
which slipped into the water and left the 
Bright Wing to her own resources. The 
Captain of the tug waved his hand in saluta- 
tion, the sails filled, and a sense of living 
motion was felt by all on board as the Bright 
Wing rolled over slightly and began cleaving 
the water under the pressure of her sails. 

Tom and Dick were standing near the 
[ 43 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 

rail, well forward on the windward side. 
“Gee!” cried Dick, “what a difference 
there is between sailing and being towed.” 

“You bet,” said Tom, “something like 
being alive or dead!” 

Soon after they had parted from the tug, 
the bugle sounded for mess inspection, and 
the scout master passed up and down the 
line. After that, all hands waited “at 
ease” until the cabin boy came up on deck 
and announced dinner to the ranking officer. 
The boys then marched aft by twos, 
followed by the oflficers, and stood at their 
places at the tables until after grace. 

Dick, Tom, and Chippie, much to their 
disappointment, found themselves in differ- 
ent sections, so that they did not sit together 
at meals; but Dick sat next to his boat- 
swain’s mate, who was Clarence Ellsworth. 

“Say,” said Dick, when he got a chance 
to speak, “why do the boys go down to 
dinner before the ofiicers ? You’d think 
the ofiicers would march down first.” 

“Well, you see,” said Ellsworth, “those 
who go down first have to wait for the others, 
[ 44 ] 


ALL HANDS ABOARD! 


and the officers come down when every- 
thing is ready to pitch into the food. Some- 
thing like getting into a boat, — we have 
to go down first to get things ready. (Law 
Number 5.) It’s the same for Sea Scouts 
and for all sailors everywhere.” 

“Oh, I understand,” said Dick. 

The boys’ table ran down the whole 
length of the berth deck — fore and aft — 
on the starboard side, while the smaller 
officers’ table was on the port side. Jack 
sat at the head, or forward end, of the 
boys’ table as chief boatswain’s mate. 
The talk was very animated and rather 
loud, for, of course, the boys felt the pleas- 
ant excitement of new surroundings and 
unaccustomed conditions. Some of them 
were shy and a little awkward on account 
of the strangeness of things they had 
never seen before ; but, under the influence 
of good food and good humor, they all 
gradually unbent, and the boys of each 
section soon felt at home with one another. 
Of course it was the business of the boat- 
swain’s mates to help this feeling along as 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


much as possible, so that they could get 
the best work out of their men ; for it is a 
rule, both on land and sea, that the best 
work is done when the men who work 
together do it in a friendly and a happy 
spirit. This, you will remember, is what 
Mrs. Perkins had learnt from her father, 
the captain of the Sally Smart. She had 
taught it to Jack, and Jack had taught it 
to the other boatswain’s mates. 

Before dinner was over, Dick noticed the 
new watch go on deck to relieve the old 
one, and the old watch come down to take 
their share of the good things. By the 
time all the boys had returned on deck, 
it seemed to him that they had gone about 
half the way to their anchorage at Hull. The 
remainder of the afternoon was spent 
principally in putting their belongings in 
order and in asking questions about the 
different parts of the ship and their uses. 
By half-past four they dropped anchor at 
Hull, and the sails were furled ; and, at 
five o’clock, the bugle sounded for the first 
General Quarters of the cruise. 


ALL HANDS ABOARD! 


First, the boys were drawn up in two rows 
on each side facing each other, while the 
setting sun threw long shadows to starboard 
on the deck; they were then faced about 
toward the quarter-deck to hear the first 
official words addressed to them by the 
Chairman of the Committee. He was a 
tall man with gray hair and dressed in a blue 
suit ; you could see that he was fond of his 
job, and Dick thought that his eyes were 
noticing everything that was going on. He 
spoke in a clear voice that you could hear 
all over the ship, although it was not 
particularly loud, and there was absolute 
attention on the part of the boys. 

“I’m mighty glad, boys,” said he, “to 
welcome you on board this ship. You 
know, of course, that we are here for a 
serious purpose. The Bright Wing is not a 
yacht, and we are not here just to enjoy 
ourselves, although we probably shall have 
a much better time than if we were. We 
are here to learn to apply the spirit of the 
scout law to the art of seamanship. I do 
not want to keep you long now, but I 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


want to point out to you at the outset the 
fact that you have a real responsibility as 
the crew of this vessel. 

“Men who are in the habit of facing 
danger look it squarely in the face and do 
not pretend that it does not exist. There 
is always a certain amount of risk in life 
at sea, although many sailors seem to think 
it is more dangerous to cross Washington 
Street or Broadway during business hours 
than to face the most adverse winds and 
dangerous currents; but, for the sake of 
those we have left at home, as well as 
for other good and sufficient reasons, the 
safety of the vessel is something we are 
bound in honor to ensure to the utmost 
of our ability. 

“Now there are three things which are 
essential to this safety. The first is the 
soundness of the vessel and her tackle, and 
for this the Sea Scouting Committee, of 
which I have the honor to be the Chairman, 
is responsible; the second is the knowl- 
edge and skill of the Captain, and for this 
both he and the Committee are responsible ; 


ALL HANDS ABOARD! 

and the third is the handiness and good 
discipline of the crew, and for this you 
are responsible. 

“Both the Committee and I are satisfied 
with the soundness of the vessel and her 
tackle, and also with the skill and knowl- 
edge of our Captain or Navigating Officer ; 
it remains for you to prove that you are 
equal to the share of the responsibility 
which devolves upon you, and I heartily 
believe that you will prove yourselves 
worthy of the trust.” 

After this the boys were dismissed until 
Mess Inspection and supper at half -past five. 

“I say,” said a quiet boy, nudging Dick’s 
elbow, as they sat eating their baked beans, 
“that old Chairman seems to mean what 
he says all right.” 

“Yep,” replied his companion, “you 
bet he does. And he expects us to toe 
the mark. Any duffer can see that!” 

After supper Dick found the other two 
members of the Triangle Club, and they 
voted unanimously that the Chairman was 
“all right.” 


[ 49 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


Before prayers, the names on the Anchor 
Watch were posted by Mr. Miller, with 
particular instructions for the scout on 
duty, and the first watch was from eight to 
nine. This hour was always assigned to 
one of the youngest boys, and Chippie 
happened to be the one selected the first 
night on board. As soon as prayers were 
over, Mr. Miller hastened to join him to 
make sure that he understood just what 
his duties were, and to repeat to him the 
instructions already posted on the berth 
deck. 

It was Chippie’s business to know the 
name of the Sea Scout who succeeded him 
at nine o’clock, and also the exact position 
of his bunk. He was to keep a sharp look- 
out on all sides of the vessel and to notice 
if anybody hailed the ship from shore. 
He was to watch the riding lights fore 
and aft and to see that they were brightly 
burning. He was to give notice of any 
boats or other vessels approaching or hailing 
the ship. On noticing anything that called 
for attention he was immediately to report 


ALL HANDS ABOARD! 


to the scout master. In case of change of 
weather, he was to call Mr. Wilson, the mate. 

He was provided with a card called the 
“Rough Log” ruled off into several different 
headings on which, before the end of his 
watch, he was to note down the state of 
the weather, the state of the sea, the cloud 
formations, the direction of the wind, and 
the direction of the ship’s head, stating 
the time of his observations. This card 
was then passed on to his successor, so 
that the complete record for the night 
contained observations for every hour. 

At five minutes of nine he was to go below 
and wake up his successor. Then he was to 
return on deck and ring the ship’s bell (two 
bells) at nine o’clock. After that he was 
to remain on duty until relieved; but, if 
his relief failed to put in an appearance at 
five minutes past nine, he was to go below 
and turn him out of his bunk. He was 
then to return on deck until relieved, and 
under no circumstances to leave his post 
before the arrival of the new watch. 

“Remember,” said Mr. Miller, in con- 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


elusion, “you are responsible for the safety 
of the ship during your watch, and you are 
on your honor.” 

The boys had all turned in, and taps had 
sounded by the time Mr. Miller had finished. 
Left to himself. Chippie began pacing the 
deck, stopping every few minutes to peer 
out into the darkness and to listen to every 
sound. 

The binnacle lamp was always kept burn- 
ing so that the compass could be read ; and, 
in the light of this lamp. Chippie filled 
out the spaces provided on the Rough Log. 
He wet his thumb and held it up in the air 
to judge which way the wind was blowing, 
and was surprised to find how difiicult it 
was to make up his mind. Finally con- 
cluding that there was no wind (a fact 
which in his great earnestness he had failed 
to notice), he put down a good big zero 
under the heading “Direction of the Wind.” 

“Good joke,” thought Chippie; “I guess 
it won’t take me so long to find that out 
next time,” and then turned his attention 
to the “direction of the ship’s head”. 



He wet his thumb and held it up in the air to judge which 
way the wind was blowing. Page 52, 



ALL HANDS ABOARD! 

“the state of the sea”, “the state of the 
sky”, etc. 

Any job, when you are not accustomed to 
it, seems awkward, and Chippie filled out 
his last space with a sense of relief. Then 
he ran forward to look at the ship’s clock 
in the companionway, and found, to his 
surprise, that it was already one minute 
to nine, and he should have gone below 
to wake the next watch four minutes before. 

But luckily the new watch had been lying 
awake in his bunk with his clothes on, and 
saved Chippie the trouble of going below 
by appearing at the top of the ladder just 
as Chippie was about to go down. So then 
Chippie went straight to the ship’s bell and 
— “ding-ding” — “two bells” — rang out 
into the night. 

“Gee, but I’m in luck,” whispered 
Chippie to himself. 

Then he went aft with the new watch, 
showed him the Rough Log and the list of 
directions, and finally went forward again, 
slipped down the companionway, and 
crawled into his bunk. 

[ 53 1 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


“ I wonder if some of the other fellows will 
be trying to study out which way the wind 
is blowing!” thought Chippie as he pulled 
off his clothes. Then his thoughts went back 
to his home in Northbridge for a while ; and 
presently the Bright Wing began rocking 
gently in the roll of a passing steamer. He 
was just awake enough to notice the motion 
and then sailed off to the land of dreams. 

At ten o’clock it was Dick’s turn on watch. 
The last members of the crew ashore — the 
carpenter and first mate — had come 
aboard at half-past nine, and there were no 
more hails to listen for. The boats were 
all on their davits, the boat booms and side- 
ladders were up, and the Bright Wing was 
tucked up and snug for the night. 

After Dick had finished his observations 
of the weather, etc., and had filled out the 
Rough Log, he watched the sky for a long 
time. He did not know the stars very 
well, but they had a great attraction for 
him. He looked around until he found the 
Great Dipper, which was the constellation 
he was most familiar with, and then the 


ALL HANDS ABOARD! 


Pole-star by following the direction of the 
pointers. He noticed that the Dipper was 
to the right of the Pole-star and below it. 
Then he noticed the constellation called 
Cassiopeia — in the shape of a “W” to 
the left of the Pole-star and above it. 

“Here’s my chance,” thought Dick, with 
a sudden inspiration, “ to see if the northern 
stars do really turn around the pole like 
a wheel as they are supposed to do.” He 
then looked at the buildings on shore to 
find some landmark by which to test the 
turning of the stars. But his watch on 
deck was already half over, and he had not 
time enough to make his experiment prop- 
erly. If he had been on land it would have 
been easier, but the ship was swinging at her 
anchor with the tide as it ran in, and there 
were no very prominent buildings in sight. 

When the next boy came up to stand his 
watch, Dick tried to interest him in his 
astronomical observations, but he got no 
response, and so promised himself to begin 
his experiment in plenty of time at the 
very next opportunity. 


CHAPTER V 

The First Forenoon at Anchor 

A T the sound of reveille the next morn- 
ing, the boys were all out of their 
bunks in short order; and, after a cup of 
cocoa with some crackers, they got the 
gear out of the way preparatory to scrub- 
bing the decks, and the cabin skylights and 
portholes were closed. 

“What the dickens is the use,” said 
Dick to Tom, “of having all these things 
done on the very minute A fellow has 
hardly time enough to look around!” 

“That’s all right,” answered Tom, “the 
things have all got to be done sometime, 
and the quicker they’re put through, the 
better. There’s no sense in wasting time 
over the chores.” 


1 56 ] 


THE FIRST FORENOON AT ANCHOR 


“Right you are, Tom,” said Perkins, 
who was standing near, “and on board a 
vessel you have to be even quicker than on 
land ; for otherwise we should be knocking 
our heads together — there are so many 
of us in a small space. That’s why things 
have to go like clockwork.” 

While the decks were being scrubbed with 
salt water, the officers in the cabin heard the 
swish of the water up against the portholes 
as they were dressing below. Suddenly an 
exclamation was heard from the cabin 
companionway, immediately followed by 
the scout master’s whistle and the cry, 
“Boatswain’s Mate!” 

The boatswain’s mate ran down and 
found Mr. Miller wiping the back of his 
neck which had just been soused by a 
stream of salt water coming through an 
unclosed porthole. 

“Who is responsible for closing the port- 
holes, Perkins?” 

“On the starboard side. Sir? I will 
jBnd out at once. It must be some one in 
the second division, first section.” Jack 
[ 57 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


returned on deck and found the boat- 
swain’s mate of that section. “Gray,” 
was the answer, “Number 4,” and Jack 
went back to the cabin and reported to 
Mr. Miller. 

“Put him on report,” said he, “ and bring 
the matter up at ‘Mast.’” 

“Ay, Ay, Sir,” said Jack, and the inci- 
dent was closed for the time being. 

Then the scrub-deck gear was stowed, 
portholes and skylights were opened up 
again, all hands began washing, for which 
they were allowed four buckets of fresh 
water, and pretty soon, at the sound of the 
boatswain’s pipe, which seemed especially 
musical in the morning air, a lot of hungry 
boys — followed by their oflficers — went 
below with raging appetites. 

“Colors” came immediately after, and, 
at the command “Attention!” every man 
and boy on deck stood up straight and 
practically motionless, facing the quarter- 
deck. One minute later, at the words 
“sound off”, it was interesting to observe 
the quartermaster as he held the ensign 
[ 58 ] 


THE FIRST FORENOON AT ANCHOR 

under his left arm, deftly wound up, so 
that it should not touch the deck or the 
rail, and then gave the halyard a quick haul. 
The ensign broke out clear and ran up to its 
staff head without a hitch. At the end of 
the bugle call, all the right hands on deck 
went up in salute, and then everybody was 
dismissed and the ceremony was over. 

Morning “Colors” is the beginning of the 
official day on board a vessel in the Navy 
or in the service of the Boy Scout brother- 
hood. No visitors are expected on board 
before this time, and nobody need feel the 
necessity of being completely dressed before 
breakfast, which comes half an hour earlier. 
Scrubbing and washing down the decks is 
done in bare feet and legs with the trousers 
rolled up over the thighs — a custom which 
originated the fashion of the “bell shape” 
characteristic of sailors’ trousers. A ship’s 
company before morning “Colors” is very 
much like a household when people are 
dressing or doing early morning chores in 
slippers and dressing gown, the difference 
being that there is more “housework” to 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 

be done at that early hour on board ship. 
The raising and saluting of the ensign is not 
alone an act of respect to the flag, reminding 
us of the first point of the scout oath and 
of our duty to our country, but it is like 
opening the front door of a house and saying 
good morning to the world at large. 

This is true even in a more literal sense; 
for, immediately after morning “Colors”, 
the boat booms are let down and the boats 
lowered — thus providing means of com- 
munication with the shore and other vessels ; 
and, at the same time, the side-ladders, 
which give general access to the ship, are 
put in position. 

For the time being — as they stood at 
attention during the bugle call — both 
Chippie and Dick had clean forgotten 
their little adventures of the night before. 
Everything was so different from the way 
things look during the night watches. The 
deck of the vessel, alive with boys and men, 
only arrested in their activity by the brief 
ceremony of “Colors”, other vessels in the 
neighborhood all astir with preparations 


THE FIRST FORENOON AT ANCHOR 


for the day, the sun shining brightly in 
the east and reflected in the rippling sur- 
face of the water, broken only by the 
shadows of the hulls and their spars, — how 
different a scene was this from that in which 
Chippie had been the central figure as he 
stood in the dark the evening before, with 
not a soul in sight, solemnly holding up his 
thumb in the still air to see which way the 
wind was blowing! 

All that was outside of Chippie’s thoughts 
now as completely as if it had never 
happened ; but it would return again 
later with many other shifting scenes ; and 
through them all there was something in 
the back of his mind which could always be 
recalled whatever his outward surroundings 
and circumstances might be. He had no 
father, and he was his mother’s only son. 
She was a hard-working woman who had 
made it possible for him to have everything 
he needed ever since he could remember. 
She had made it possible for him to come 
on this cruise, and he was deeply grateful 
to her for all her goodness. He remem- 
1 61 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


bered what Jack Perkins had told them that 
evening at his house about saluting the flag 
not only as the emblem of our country but 
also as the emblem of our duty to God ; 
and this morning, as he stood there “at 
attention ”, he thought to himself : “ I 

guess the biggest duty I’ve got is to stand 
by my mother ! ” 

Just befoi'e “Colors” the coxswains, 
who had cleaned their respective boats 
before breakfast, reported them to the 
scout master as ready for inspection ; the 
quartermaster reported the clocks wound, 
and the watch was relieved. 

The new watch consisted of Clarence 
Ellsworth, boatswain’s mate, a coxswain, 
a quartermaster, and five ordinary and 
apprentice seamen, of whom Diek Gray 
was one and served as messenger. This 
watch was on duty for four hours, from eight 
to twelve, and the boatswain’s mate was 
responsible for all the routine orders during 
that time. Immediately after the old 
wateh had been relieved, Mr. Miller handed 
to Ellsworth a slip of paper upon whieh 
[ 62 ] 


THE FIRST FORENOON AT ANCHOR 


were written these routine orders. He was 
supposed to blow his “ call ” and to give his 
orders in a clear, audible voice and then 
to see that they were carried out as stated. 
It was the special duty of the master-at- 
arms to help in carrying out orders by 
mingling with the boys, setting them a 
good example, and giving the slow or lazy 
ones a good-natured shove ahead. The 
boatswain’s mate cannot be in two places 
at once, and the master-at-arms is a great 
help to him in this respect, and must neces- 
sarily be a boy of ability and character ; for 
the master-at-arms could not possibly have 
the right influence with the boys if he merely 
tried to order them around ; he is obliged 
to be good-humored and dignified, and to 
keep his mind on his job all the time. The 
master-at-arms at this time was admirably 
suited to fill all these requirements. 

As the boatswain’s mate of the watch 
sounded the call for “Mast”, the boys all 
lined up on the starboard side just forward 
of the quarter-deck, and the captain and 
scout master stood facing them. Dick was 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


the only Sea Scout on report, and was 
charged with not properly closing a porthole 
before washing decks. He pleaded guilty 
and was let off with a warning, as this was 
his first offense. All hands then joined 
in the “setting up” exercises before going 
over the masthead. 

The master-at-arms was an “able sea- 
man” by the name of Young, who came 
from Attleboro, an inland town, where 
there were few facilities for practicing 
seamanship ; he was a boy who was earning 
his living and the leader of a small gang 
who had formed themselves into a section 
of Sea Scouts. He had received a good 
many hard knocks, and, through them, some 
knowledge of human nature; and there 
was a good-humored determination about 
him which made him a natural leader 
whom it was easy to follow. There was 
nothing showy about Bertie Young, but 
you could not have found a boy on board 
who did not value his regard. Nothing 
special was apt to occur for the master-at- 
arms to attend to, during the morning 
[ 64 ] 


THE FIRST FORENOON Af ANCHOR 

hours at anchor, except to exert a steady 
influence for order and quiet ; and, without 
having to think of it, he habitually kept 
track of the time and of the messenger in 
ringing the ship’s bell. But one of his chief 
jobs came in the evening; namely, that of 
keeping the berth deck quiet after tattoo 
and taps had sounded. 

At a little after half-past eleven. Young 
happened to look at his watch, and it 
struck him that he had not heard the ship’s 
bell sound seven bells as it should have done 
a few minutes before. Looking over toward 
the day bunk, he noticed Dick, the mes- 
senger, fooling with some of the boys who 
were off duty, and quietly walked up to him. 

“Say, Dick,” said he, “didn’t you forget 
to strike seven bells .5^” 

“No, it isn’t time yet,” retorted Dick 
somewhat crossly. 

“You’d better look at the cabin clock 
and see,” answered Young. “Say, Dick,” 
continued the master-at-arms, “you have 
no business to be here on the day bunk 
when you’re one of the watch on duty.” 

[ 65 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


Dick flung off in a huff to look at the 
clock and found that he was six minutes 
late. Then he started forward to ring the 
bell and bumped up against Chippie Smith. 

“Get out of the way there. Chip; don’t 
you see I’ve got to strike the bell? I’m 
six minutes late now, but I don’t care 
whether it’s six or sixteen ! I’m tired to 
death of all this doing things on time and 
splitting the day up into seconds ! It’s all 
bosh, I say.” 

“You go and strike the bell,” retorted 
Chippie, “and do your talking afterwards !” 
And then he thought to himself : 

“I guess it’s about time to have another 
meeting of the club. I’ll go and find Tom.” 


[ 66 ] 


CHAPTER VI 


Sports by Land and Water 

^HE evening before, Mr. Miller had 
engaged the Hull baseball field for 
this afternoon ; and, as all the boys were 
to be allowed liberty, some of them went 
down to the cabin at half-past two to ask 
for a little of their money which was kept 
in the ship’s safe. At a quarter to three 
the bugle sounded for liberty inspection, 
and a few of the greener boys were found 
to have tied their black kerchiefs with wrong 
knots, causing a laugh among the older 
ones. 

“How do you expect your rope knots to 
hold, if you can’t tie your neck-gear right ?” 
said Jack Perkins, as they all tumbled into 
the ship’s cutters and rowed ashore. 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


Mr. Miller and Perkins were chosen cap- 
tains for the two teams, and Boatswain 
Fred Hamilton was elected umpire. Then 
Mr. Miller and Jack began choosing their 
men alternately; and, as they stood in 
two bunches opposite each other, “the 
Blues” and “the Reds” appeared to be 
fairly evenly matched. 

About half a dozen boys who had not 
been lucky enough to be chosen for the 
teams, sat on the benches and improvised 
score cards, hoping that some of them 
might be called upon as substitutes before 
the game was over. Mr. Miller himself 
was a good player for “the Blues.” He 
was more than an average player, having 
served on his freshman nine at college, 
and having always gone out regularly as a 
candidate for the “Varsity” up to his senior 
year. On two or three occasions he had 
even played as a substitute on the “Var- 
sity”, and was looked upon as a valuable 
and reliable man in reserve. “The Reds”, 
on the other hand, had a first-rate player 
in their captain. Jack Perkins, who, be- 
I 68 ] 


SPORTS BY LAND AND WATER 


sides being a prize-winner at track ath- 
letics, had served as captain of his class 
nine at the Northbridge High School. 

Both Mr. Miller and Jack usually took 
the position of catcher. Mr. Graham 
Wentworth, the assistant scout master, 
was made pitcher for the “Reds”, and 
Clarence Ellsworth pitcher for the “Blues.” 

At the toss up, the “Blues” won their 
first innings and went in with Mr. Miller 
at the bat. He knocked a swift grounder, 
which was picked up by the shortstop, 
Tom Sheffield, and thrown to first base, 
so that Mr. Miller was put out at the very 
beginning of the inning. Chippie Smith, who 
was sitting on the benches, climbed up and 
waved his hat frantically at this good play 
of his chum’s, and the spectators, who had 
now begun to gather around the stands, gave 
a round of applause. Tom was surprised 
at himself, and began muttering “steady, 
now, steady ! ” to keep from getting excited. 

Mr. Miller felt rather queer as he sat 
down on the grass and watched Ellsworth 
go to the bat. The latter helped the 
[ 69 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 

situation for the “Blues” somewhat by 
making a two-base hit to left field. He 
held second base all right, and the “Blues” 
felt a little better. Ellsworth, however, 
tried to steal third, but was put out by 
a pretty cross-diamond throw from the 
pitcher, Mr. Wentworth. This made two 
out for the “Blues”, and it looked as if 
the first inning was to end unluckily for 
them. Nobody scored, that inning, until 
all had been at the bat excepting Dick 
Gray, who got his first base on a “single” 
to right field, but then, to the astonishment 
of everybody, kept on running to second. 
Guy Plummer, who was playing right field, 
picked the ball up quickly and threw it to 
second, at just about the same time that 
Dick dove forward on the ground to touch 
the base. The second baseman, Sidney 
Malloy, was a good player but rather a 
small boy, and immediately turned to the 
umpire and claimed that Gray was out; 
but Dick gave him a dig in the ribs ; and, 
at the same time grabbed the base, loudly 
claiming that he had made good. 

[ 70 ] 



Dick dove forward on the ground to touch the base. 
Page 70. 



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SPORTS BY LAND AND WATER 

The umpire took a few minutes to con- 
sider, and then decided that Gray was 
“not out.” Plummer had been in a pretty 
good position to see what had actually hap- 
pened and he thought it was a clear case 
of “out”; at the same time, it was quite 
possible that Gray had honestly believed 
that he had touched the base before the 
ball was caught. Nobody really had any 
unpleasant feeling over the incident, ex- 
cept Malloy, the second baseman, and 
Mr. Wentworth, who from the pitcher’s 
box had noticed the ugly look in Dick’s 
face when he told the small-sized second 
baseman to “shut up!” 

This made “three out” at the end of 
the first half of the first inning. The 
“Reds” only made one run in their half, 
and this was scored by Perkins on a “three- 
bagger” to left field, caught, but dropped, 
by the left fielder. During the next four 
or five innings no very remarkable work 
was done on either side. There was some 
good hitting, but the fielding was rather 
poor ; and, at the beginning of the sixth 
[ 71 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


inning, the score stood at seven to six in 
favor of the “Reds.” During this inning, 
however, Mr. Wentworth began improving 
in his pitching. He seemed to have got his 
second wind and threw his balls with a 
kind of regular swing, and with greater 
swiftness and accuracy. 

One of the “Blues” was put out on three 
strikes and Clarence Ellsworth struck a 
ball which went almost straight into the 
air, and was well judged and caught by 
the second baseman, Malloy, who had 
previously been roughly handled by Dick. 

After this the “Reds” began to forge 
ahead still further, and the hopes of the 
“Blues” were finally dashed when Mr. Mil- 
ler, after having made a two-base hit, 
was put out on third, — the final score 
being eleven to six in favor of the “Reds.” 

Thus ended the first game of the season 
for the “Blues” and the “Reds” of the 
Bright Wing; and, after cheering one 
another and giving the Boy Scout yell, 
they started to walk through the town on 
their way back to the dock. 


SPORTS BY LAND AND WATER 

The long boat, with Mr. Miller on board 
and Tom Sheffield as coxswain, got under 
way first ; and, as the ship was about half 
a mile from the shore, it gave the boys a 
good chance for a stretch after their game. 
The two other boats started together about 
seven minutes after the long boat, and the 
idea of a race occurred to the two cox- 
swains at the same moment. Mr. Went- 
worth, the ofiicer in command, gave his 
assent. The two coxswains. Chippie Smith 
and Sidney Malloy, looked their men over 
carefully with a view to balancing the 
boats; and, after one or two changes of 
position, it was agreed that Mr. Went- 
worth should give the word. The latter 
picked out the corner of a certain building 
on one side of the bay and the mast of a 
ship lying at anchor on the other side. 
The imaginary line connecting these two 
points would be about at right angles to 
the course the boys would have to row to 
get to the Bright Wing. Mr. Wentworth 
ordered the two bow men to report when 
both bows were as nearly as possible on 
[ 73 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


this line with their heads turned in the 
direction of the ship; and, after a little 
backing and pulling, with the boats about 
a hundred feet apart, Mr. Wentworth gave 
the order, “Stand by; — give way to- 
gether ! ” 

Once started, Mr. Wentworth, of course, 
said nothing more, but, in his seat in the 
stern, next the coxswain, left the man- 
agement of the boat entirely to him. 

“Easy, now! Easy!” called Chippie, 
as his men, in their haste to get away, be- 
gan interfering with one another, instead 
of pulling all together. 

Malloy’s crew made a little better start, 
for he had taken pains to warn them to go 
easy for the first six strokes until they 
had got the rhythm of the oars into their 
heads and bodies. 

By the time Chippie’s men had got out 
of their little mess, Malloy’s boat was about 
a length ahead ; and, after that, both 
crews settled down to work with a good 
steady swing. 

In such a short race as this, one boat’s 


SPORTS BY LAND AND WATER 


length at the start was of some importance, 
and Chippie felt that they must do their 
best to make up for the loss as quickly 
as possible. It was not a question of keep- 
ing strength in reserve, as he would have 
done if there had been a mile to row in- 
stead of a half-mile. 

The Bright Wing was lying broadside on 
to them, and it had been agreed that they 
would row across her bow, — the first boat 
going across being the winner. They knew, 
of course, that there would be plenty of 
boys on board who would crowd into 
the jib netting to act as judges. 

Both coxswains were counting steadily 
to keep the rowing smooth and even, and 
Chippie’s boat had already caught up to 
the extent of half a length, when an angry 
exclamation escaped one of the boys who 
had “caught a crab”, and, at the same time, 
lost his balance — tumbling over back- 
wards with his feet in the air. 

“All but Number Three keep on rowing,” 
cried Chippie. “Easy, there. Number 
Three ! You must not pull the boat around. 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


All right, Dick. Now, all together, — keep 
stroke ! One, two ! — one, two ! — one, 
two ! — ” Thanks to Chippie’s presence 
of mind, the incident had only cost them 
one boat’s length, so that they found them- 
selves a length and a half behind the other 
boat, instead of half a length, as they had 
been before. 

“It was your fault, Guy,” muttered Dick 
under his breath, to the boy behind him. 

“Keep your mouth shut and your oar 
going, Diek,” cried the coxswain; “we’ve 
got to save this race first, and you can 
blame other people afterwards.” 

Some of the boys in the other boat, when 
they had noticed Dick’s mishap, had begun 
to laugh and sensibly slackened up their 
pace. Chippie noticed this, and it gave 
him a new interest in gathering his men 
together to do their best. 

“Now, boys,” said he, in a low but dis- 
tinct tone, “pull yourselves together, and 
we may win out yet. The other crew have 
begun wool-gathering, and that will give 
us a chance either to win or make it a tie.” 


SPORTS BY LAND AND WATER 


Then, “one, two! — one, two! — ” he 
began his firm rhythmical count, and 
every boy in the boat felt the effect of 
Chippie Smith’s quiet determination. 

In another minute the chuckling boys of 
the other crew were surprised to notice 
that they were only a half length ahead. 
Then they stopped grinning, and Malloy 
got back on his job, which he realized he 
should never have left for a moment. 

But now it seemed that they had come 
too near to the goal to recover themselves 
entirely. Chippie Smith’s boat had too 
strong a headway, and the whole crew were 
working together like animated clockwork. 
They managed to cross the line practi- 
cally at the same time as their opponents, 
and the question of which boat actually 
was the winner had to be referred to a 
committee of three boys who were in the 
jib netting at the finish. The race was 
so close that the committee itself was not 
unanimous, although Chippie Smith’s boat 
was declared the winner by the distance of 
a mere hair’s breadth. 

[ 77 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


When it was all over, Mr. Wentworth 
sent for Chippie and shook hands with 
him. 

“I call that pretty work, Smith; you 
were in a hard position when that mistake 
was made, and you held your men together 
well.” 

Chippie was standing at attention and 
brought his hand up to salute. There 
was no mistake about the “smile of the 
scout” on his face at that moment. It 
was more eloquent even than his hearty 
“Thank you, sir!” 

The interest in the race had been so keen 
among both officers and boys that the 
memory of the baseball game was almost 
cast into the shade. 

Sidney Malloy’s crew were a little 
ashamed of themselves, but they were 
foremost in their appreciation of the grand 
way in which their opponents had rallied 
and made such a fine showing at the end. 

All the boys in Chippie’s crew felt that 
they owed their victory — such as it was 
— to the coxswain, and were for carrying 
[ 78 ] 


SPORTS BY LAND AND WATER 


him on their shoulders around the deck, 
but Chippie got away and climbed up the 
mast to the crosstrees, from which su- 
perior strategic position he threatened to 
annihilate any one who should be so bold 
as to pursue him. 

After Chippie had come down and the 
excitement had begun to subside, he be- 
gan to feel uncomfortable about Dick, 
and wondered what was the matter with 
him. He thought about the incident of 
the bell, and then about Dick’s accident 
in the boat. 

“I never saw him so awkward in a boat 
before,” thought he, “I wonder what’s 
got into him.?” 

Then he thought of the meeting on Duck 
Island when they had all three agreed to 
keep one another up to the scout standard, 
and felt troubled and unhappy. He went 
off to talk it all over with Tom. 

The only other member of this crew who 
was not happy was Dick Gray himself, 
and it was hard to make out just what 
was the matter with him. In talking 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


him over with the Chairman, Mr. Went- 
worth remarked : 

“I can’t quite make that boy out, sir. 
He may need some special help. I can’t 
make out his signals.” 


CHAPTER VII 

Under Way for Marblehead 

IMMEDIATELY after reveille next 
morning, the boys were surprised to 
hear the boatswain’s call followed by the 
command to “stand by to set sail.” The 
boatswain’s mates “got busy” very quickly 
and could be seen sending their boys to 
different parts of the deck, — some to the 
bowsprit to remove the jib stops, some 
to the fore boom to release the foresail, 
and the others to the parts of the ship to 
which they belonged. 

After the fore and main sails had been 
set, all hands were ordered forward to the 
windlass and began hauling up the anchor. 
It was hot work, and there was not room 
enough for all the boys to get on to the 
[81 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


job at the same time; but Dick managed 
to get on among the first, while Tom and 
Chippie were in the outside ring who stood 
ready to jump in and “spell” their com- 
rades. Then, — after the anchor had been 
broken from the ground, — came the man- 
ning of the halyards, — first the main, 
then the fore, and then the jumbo and the 
jib halyards. 

As the head sails ran up, they were filled 
by a light northwest breeze which some- 
what tempered the heat. The night had 
been very warm, and the boys were all 
glad to get up on deck and very much in- 
terested in the prospect of sailing; the 
reef-points beat a cheerful tattoo on the 
canvas, as it quietly slatted back and 
forth, while the ship’s bow headed west- 
ward to pass through the gut into the outer 
harbor. Once outside, she settled down to 
a long leg on the port tack, and then the 
anchor was hoisted up and lifted over the 
rail. 

While this was going on. Jack Perkins 
was active in seeing that the boatswain’s 
[ 82 ] 


UNDER WAY FOR MARBLEHEAD 


orders were carried out. The mate stood 
on the quarter-deck giving his commands, 
while the boatswain repeated them for- 
ward with the musical accompaniment of 
his call. Jack not only had his own di- 
vision to look after, but it was his business 
also to see that the other B.M.’s were on 
their jobs, and that every scout of every 
division was doing his allotted work. 

This was the first time that the crew had 
performed this particular manoeuvre, and 
it was not surprising that there was a 
hitch here and there. Some small boys 
would stand looking on while the Others 
were hauling on the halyards, but on in- 
quiry it was found that they were under 
the impression that only the “huskies” 
were considered worthy of this work. This 
idea was quickly dispelled, however; and, 
before the mainsail was finally set, every 
available boy was on the halyards, each 
one contributing his share of the pull, 
however small it might be. Other boys 
who hesitated were mostly green hands who 
had not caught the spirit of acting together, 
[ 83 J 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


while one of the little fellows was found in 
the jib-net admiring the view, and another 
curled up on the day bunk reading a book. 
Altogether it was a good opportunity for 
Mr. Miller to distinguish the wool-gatherers 
from the workers, but he felt sure that it 
was only practice that was needed to get 
this crew pulling together in true and 
shipshape style. 

By this time it was 7 : 45, and there was 
just time to scrub decks and then wash up 
before breakfast. It was a pleasant thing 
to hear the trill of the boatswain’s call as 
the mess cooks scrambled down to set the 
tables; and better still to sit down to 
breakfast after the early morning’s work. 

The breeze was not strong but held out 
steadily while the routine work was going 
on, and also through “quarters” and 
“mast.” At “quarters” the “lucky bag” 
was brought out for the first time and was 
found to contain a jumper, a couple of 
towels, and a lanyard and knife. Mr. 
Miller explained the principle of the “lucky 
bag” as follows : 


[ 84 ] 


UNDER WAY FOR MARBLEHEAD 


“The master-at-arms will pick up every- 
thing that he finds lying about the decks 
and put it in the Tucky bag’ ; they may re- 
main in the bag at the discretion of the sea 
scout master until he decides to open it at 
‘quarters.’ At this time articles lost may 
be claimed by those who have missed them, 
but a penalty may be imposed upon the 
owner before the lost article is returned to 
him. As this is the first time the ‘lucky 
bag’ has been opened on this cruise, no 
penalties will be exacted on the return of 
these articles. The Sea Scouts are warned 
that in the future they will be expected to 
be shipshape in their habits, and that 
articles left carelessly lying about will not 
be returned to their owners until due pen- 
alty in the shape of extra duty has been 
paid. 

“But there is another matter to which 
I must call your attention at the present 
time. It is one thing to approve of dis- 
cipline in theory and quite another to 
submit to it in practice. Most of you boys 
are familiar with stories of good seamanship, 
[ 85 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


but very few of you have ever experienced 
before this cruise the training which made 
such seamanship possible. Almost every- 
body is naturally lazy, and doing things on 
time is irksome and disagreeable to lazy 
people. ‘Oh, I guess to-morrow’ll do as 
weir, or ‘All right. I’ll be there in a few 
minutes ’ — these are the common expres- 
sions of lazy lubbers who have not yet 
learnt to like the promptness and alertness 
which good seamanship requires. I warn 
you boys of this now, at the beginning of 
the cruise, because I know the temptation 
comes to almost every one, and you might 
as well give up the idea of being Sea Scouts 
unless you are morally strong enough to clear 
all such lazy stuff out of the way. Orders 
must be carried out on the run and on the 
jump, and there is no room for a grouch on 
board of this ship. 

“Since this cruise started, I have seen 
some boys hanging back and doing their 
work in a poor-spirited way; I did not 
always blame them, because I knew they 
were acting from ignorance and did not 


UNDER WAY FOR MARBLEHEAD 


yet know the absolute necessity on board 
ship of a prompt and cheerful spirit. But, 
after this, I shall expect all hands to put 
their best foot foremost and to show that 
they have in them the making of good 
sailors and Sea Scouts. 

“Those who are not able to live up to 
this standard will loaf their way along 
until they drop out, — maybe at the next 
port we make. They will not come on 
another cruise and they will have missed 
all the training as well as all the fun and 
enjoyment that comes from putting your 
heart into your work and doing what you 
have to do with all your might.” 

While Mr. Miller was talking, you could 
see some of the boys here and there 
straighten up in sympathy with his words. 
Tom and Chippie, especially, looked at 
one another significantly and hoped that 
Dick was taking it all in as eagerly as they 
were. But they were disappointed, for 
the grouchy look on Dick’s face had not 
cleared away. 

The instruction that morning was 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


“Knots and Splices”, “Boxing the Com- 
pass”, “Ship’s Rigs”, and “Chart-work 
with the Captain.” Tom liked the chart- 
work best and found no diflSculty in re- 
membering the symbols for lights, buoys, 
shoals, etc., and felt as if he were on a 
cruise within a cruise, exploring the waters 
of some foreign land. Chippie felt most at 
home with his knots and splices, because 
it was less like studying than any of the 
other subjects; and both boys were sur- 
prised to find how much they had to learn 
about ship’s rigs. Dick, on the other 
hand, did not seem to take much interest 
in anything, and if there had been any 
motion of the sea he would have been sus- 
pected of being seasick. 

About ten o’clock the breeze died down 
while they were still a good distance from 
Marblehead. It was hot, but as there was 
no swell on the water, everybody felt com- 
fortable in spite of the heat. The boys 
had begun to feel at home in their new sur- 
roundings, and were too much absorbed 
in the interest of their work, as each di- 


UNDER WAY FOR MARBLEHEAD 


vision passed from one instructor to the 
next, to mind the discomfort of the heat. 

As there was no particular hurry in 
getting to Marblehead, which was their 
destination for that day, the Captain de- 
cided not to use the launch to tow the 
ship unless it should become necessary 
toward the afternoon. So the Bright Wing 
lay with her sails flapping quite lazily, 
and with the jaws of the main gaff creaking 
and snarling, as it swayed from side to 
side, until eleven o’clock; when the bugle 
sounded “retreat from drill”, and there 
was nothing more but play and good fun 
until dinner time. 

After dinner a change in the weather set 
in, in the form of gathering clouds toward 
the northwest, which at first were scarcely 
noticeable ; while the ship’s band — in 
the form of a good Victrola — played 
some lively airs, in which the boys often 
joined in chorus. By about three o’clock 
the wind was blowing in light but sud- 
den gusts, and the clouds in the north- 
west had gathered thickly, with streamers 
[ 89 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


extending overhead, indicative of more 
wind. 

Jack climbed up into the crosstrees to 
take a good look at the sky and reported 
to the Captain, when he came down, that 
there was smoke in the direction of Marble- 
head, but he could not make out whether 
it was at Marblehead itself or beyond. 
Pretty soon the smoke became quite per- 
ceptible on deck as the wind increased 
to a fresh breeze. 

The Captain sent word to the Chairman ; 
and, as soon as he came on deck, he noticed 
the cloud of smoke which was now quite 
conspicuous in the northwestern sky, and 
stretching like a long streamer over the 
sea. 

“There may be something for us to do 
when we get to Marblehead,” said he to 
Mr. Miller, who was standing by. “It 
must be a big fire to cause so much smoke 
as that.” 

For the next half-hour the Bright Wing 
bounded along in a spanking breeze, and 
every boy on board felt the new exhilara- 


UNDER WAY FOR MARBLEHEAD 


tion and life of the wind and motion. It 
did not take them long to get into port, 
and they' dropped anchor in Marblehead 
harbor at about a quarter of four. The 
boys were all at their places for lowering 
the sails ; but, once lowered, they were 
ordered to make them only temporarily 
secure with the stops, without careful furl- 
ing, in view of the Chairman’s haste to 
get ashore and on to the scene of the fire 
as quickly as possible. It was decided to 
leave one of the four sections on board to 
finish the furling and make all fast, and 
then to follow the rest of the company ; these 
got into the boats as soon as they could 
be lowered, and headed for the nearest 
wharf. 

Dick appeared to have got over his grouch 
during the day, and his section was the 
first to leave the ship. 


[ 91 ] 


/ 


CHAPTER VIII 
The Salem Fire 

A S soon as the main party arrived at 
the landing they inquired eagerly where 
the fire was, and learned very soon that it 
was in Salem, and had started in the north- 
western section of the city. 

Marblehead lies about southeast from 
Salem, and the wind was blowing from 
west to east, veering to northwest, — so 
that the fumes of smoke, driven by blasts 
of heated air, kept pouring over the houses 
of the little old-fashioned town, making the 
atmosphere decidedly disagreeable in the 
streets below. 

Mr. Miller was in command of the com- 
pany; and, after a brief consultation be- 
tween himself, Mr. Wentworth, and the 
[ 92 ] 


THE SALEM FIRE 


boatswain’s mates, it was decided to sepa- 
rate into divisions, to march within easy 
call of one another toward Salem, and to 
reach, if possible, the headquarters of the 
Salem Fraternity or Boys’ Club. Here, 
they felt, they would be sure to find other 
boys with their leaders who could give 
them all the information they required and 
plenty of work to do. 

The distance to Salem was about four 
miles ; and, during the second half of 
their walk, the smoke became thicker and 
hotter. Here and there burning embers, 
carried by the wind, fell along the road 
and on the roofs of adjoining houses. All 
along the streets people were hurrying 
from one place to another in more or less 
excitement ; and, on the housetops, groups 
were busy wetting down their roofs and 
putting out burning cinders. A little later 
9 they came upon piles of furniture on the 
sidewalks, and furniture vans carrying the 
household possessions of families to places 
of safety. The activity increased as they 
entered the city proper. As they walked 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


northward, the wind and smoke came 
from a direction on their left ; and, as they 
advanced nearer to the heart of the fire, 
they could see the flames springing out of 
the wreckage below, spreading from one 
house to another under the influence of 
the wind; could hear the crash of falling 
buildings, and watch great showers of 
sparks and burning material being carried 
along by the gusts of air. 

Presently they found themselves sur- 
rounded by a crowd of people, and the 
order was passed along to each division 
to walk in Indian file. Tom Sheffield was 
the last boy in the line and suddenly his 
attention was attracted by a knot of people 
that had gathered quickly around some 
one who was lying in the street. This had 
happened after the other scouts had got 
well ahead of him, so that he was the only 
one who had noticed the occurrence. He 
ran quickly up to the spot and saw a 
woman lying in the midst of the group 
with broken pieces of crockery all around 
her and a large spot of blood on the left 
[ 94 ] 


THE SALEM FIRE 


sleeve of her white shirt waist. Her eyes 
were closed, and her face was pale. An 
elderly woman held her head on her lap 
but was evidently frightened and did not 
know what to do. A little child in the 
crowd was crying excitedly, and at the same 
time a man called out, “Get a doctor, 
somebody, — she’s bleeding to death ! ” 

Tom then quickly ripped up her sleeve 
with his knife and laid the wound bare. 
He saw at once from the pulsations and 
color of the blood that an artery had been 
severed. He then felt in his pocket for 
his first-aid kit but found that he had left 
it behind. Quickly he whipped out his 
pocket handkerchief and folded it over to 
serve as a bandage, tying it tightly above 
the wound. He then exerted even more 
pressure by inserting a lead pencil and 
twisting the bandage around. When the 
crowd noticed that the blood had stopped 
flowing, there were exclamations of surprise. 

“Good for you, sonny,” called out the 
burly man. 

“He’s one of them Boy Scouts,” remarked 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


another, “you can tell by the suit he 
wears.” 

“Come,” called out Tom, “you fellows 
had better stop talking and hurry up the 
doctor. Has anybody gone for him?” 

“That’s all right, son; here he is now.” 

And a brisk young man stepped out of 
an automobile that had just slowed up at 
the outskirts of the little crowd. 

After a glance at the improvised bandage 
and tourniquet, the doctor nodded at Tom 
with a smile and went back to get more 
permanent apparatus out of his bag. This 
was quickly applied and then, after asking 
a few questions and learning that the 
woman’s house had been burnt down, he 
lifted her up in his arms, and carried her to 
the automobile. 

“Here, you Scout! I want your help. 
Jump into the automobile and support 
her head as I lift her in.” 

Tom instantly obeyed, and the next 
minute the patient’s head was resting upon 
his shoulder, and the doctor was driving 
the car to the Beverly Hospital. Once 
[ 96 ] 


THE SALEM FIRE 

there the attendants took charge under 
the doctor’s orders; and, left to himself, 
Tom began to wonder how he could best 
communicate with Mr. Miller, 

He decided to telephone from the hos- 
pital to the Salem Fraternity, and leave a 
message there; and, as he was coming 
out of the telephone booth, he ran across 
the doctor who had come from the wards 
to telephone himself. 

“Oh ! Hullo !” cried he, addressing Tom 
with a hearty greeting, “I was afraid you 
had run away. Scout; I wanted to shake 
hands with you and compliment you on 
your work. But we doctors are beginning 
to take good work for granted, when we 
see your uniform.” 

Tom laughed. “I guess the good work 
wouldn’t stay good long,” said he, “if we 
were to bank on the uniform.” 

“Where are you going now?” asked the 
doctor. And, when Tom had explained, 
he continued, “I’ll drive you to the Fra- 
ternity building myself, and probably we 
shall get there about as soon as your troop 
[ 97 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


does, I’m sorry we had to drive that 
poor woman so far, but the Salem Hospital 
is partly burnt. She bore the journey all 
right, however ; she had just regained 
consciousness when I left, and I will call 
up and inquire about her this evening,” 

After another half-hour’s drive, during 
which Tom was much impressed by the 
distress of the people and the great amount 
of work to be done, they arrived at the 
Fraternity building, and he at once reported 
to Mr. Miller. 

When Tom had bolted toward the crowd 
surrounding the fainting woman, his ab- 
sence had not been noticed because so many 
things were happening on all sides. The 
main body of boys soon came to a place 
where they had an unobstructed view of 
the fire and where the people were stand- 
ing in a compact mass looking on at the 
awe-inspiring but brilliant scene. The 
street, however, was blocked, and the people 
were not allowed to approach any nearer to 
the fire. Many of them were excited ; 
and, every now and then, two or three 
[ 98 ] 


THE SALEM FIRE 


would surge forward in advance of the line, 
pushing ahead of them a rope that had 
been roughly secured to bar the way. 
As the boys approached the scene, they 
heard a voice calling out: “Stand back! 
Stand back ! ” and Jack Perkins a few 
moments later called out : 

“Say, boys, we are not the only scouts 
here!” 

Dick Gray was near the front, behind 
Jack, and there were two or three rows of 
people tightly pressed together ahead of 
him, so that he could not see what was 
going on in the front, but he ducked down 
and got through between their legs and 
saw a Boy Scout, with a patrol leader’s 
badge in his hat and staff in hand, guard- 
ing the line and holding back the crowd. 

“Hullo, Bob!” called out Dick from 
somewhere near the ground. He had recog- 
nized Bob Peters of the second Beverly 
troop, who had made a record for high 
jumping at the last Boy Scout rally. 

“Hullo!” called back Bob, with a grin. 
“What are you doing there down cellar?” 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


“Hunting for the fire hose !” cried Dick, 
quick as a wink, and disappeared behind 
the legs of the crowd again. 

As they could not get through in this 
direction, it became necessary to find some 
other and more roundabout way, so they 
turned off to the right, making a semicircle 
and avoiding the thickest part of the smoke. 
Finally they came to the Fraternity build- 
ing on Central Street, which was out of the 
path of the wind and fire. 

As they entered the building, the smell 
of cooking attracted their attention first, 
and they met several boys passing through 
the hall carrying loaves of bread and 
pitchers, which they very soon discovered 
contained soup. While some of the scouts 
and other members of the Fraternity were 
patrolling the city in search of good turns 
to homeless people, others were waiting 
to carry supplies of food wherever they 
might be needed. 

The superintendent of the Salem Fra- 
ternity happened to be absent at the time, 
and a well-known scout master, Mr. Shal- 
[ 100 1 


THE SALEM FIRE 


lack, from an adjoining town was organiz- 
ing the boys for service. The first thing 
he had done was to requisition food and 
other supplies, such as kitchen utensils, 
etc., from a number of business men, and 
then he had organized an efficient soup 
kitchen to supply food to the many who 
would soon be in need. 

Mr. Miller immediately offered the ser- 
vices of his ship’s company, and they were 
sent out in groups of two or three to find 
people who needed immediate help, and 
to give them whatever service was in their 
power. 

It was not until he was arranging these 
groups of boys that Mr. Miller noticed 
Tom Sheffield’s absence and inquired of 
each of the other boys where they had 
last seen him. Ellsworth Randall was his 
boatswain’s mate and was really responsi- 
ble, but could give no explanation. 

“I don’t understand it, sir,” said he, 
“but I think he must have stopped to look 
at something, and then lost his way before 
he could catch up.” 

[ 101 1 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


“H’m,” said Mr. Miller, “that doesn’t 
sound like Sheffield ; he’s no wool-gatherer ! ” 

Meanwhile Dick had come up and begged 
that he might be allowed to go and hunt 
for Tom, but just then the telephone bell 
in the office rang. 

“Some one to speak to Mr. Miller,’’ 
said the attendant, and to his intense re- 
lief, Mr. Miller heard Tom’s voice, talking 
over the wire from the Beverly Hospital. 

“I’m sorry, sir,” he heard him say, 
“but I had to run and lend a hand. I’ll 
explain it all to you as soon as I can get 
there.” 


[ 102 ] 


CHAPTER IX 


Scouts to the Rescue 
FTER Tom had returned and reported 



to Mr. Miller, he. Chippie, and Dick 
were ordered off in quest of good turns. 
They had been directed toward a certain 
street which was on the very edge of the 
fire; and, after they had walked ten min- 
utes in this direction, they heard cries pro- 
ceeding from a house on the opposite side 
of the road. They crossed over and en- 
tered the house, which was an old-fashioned 
single dwelling turned into a building with 
a tenement on each floor. Two women — 
one elderly and the other comparatively 
young — were carrying down-stairs, with 
some difficulty, a large trunk containing 
all the household goods and clothes they 


[ 103 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 

had managed to scrape together, while a 
little girl was crying passionately at the 
foot of the stairs : 

“The kitty, oh ! the kitty ! We have 
left the kitty up-stairs and she can’t get 
out!” 

The house had caught fire on or near the 
roof, and the top story was almost gone. 
It was a five-story house, and the fourth 
story was already burning, with the smoke 
and flames penetrating into the third ; and 
out of this third story the two women and 
the little child had escaped just about in 
time, but leaving behind them many things 
they would have liked to save. Among 
these was the cat, of whom they had not 
thought until the little girl had begun cry- 
ing for it at the foot of the stairs. It was 
too late to go back in the ordinary way, 
because the smoke had gathered so thickly 
about them that it would have been al- 
most impossible to get through ; but 
Chippie suddenly remembered the directions 
in the Boy Scout Handbook about crawling 
along the floor, and so getting enough air 
[ 104 ] 


SCOUTS TO THE RESCUE 

to breathe while making one’s way through 
a burning house. He turned to one of the 
women and asked her on what floor their 
apartment was, and then, after thinking 
for a moment, he said : 

“I’ll see whether it’s possible to get 
through on my hands and knees and bring 
the cat out.” 

“Right you are. Chip,” said Dick, “and 
you, Tom, take hold of that trunk and 
carry it out into the middle of the street, 
while I get around into the back yard and 
see if there is any way of climbing up to 
the windows of the third story.” 

Chippie darted up-stairs, and the last 
they saw of him was the soles of his boots 
over the top step of the staircase, as he 
began pushing his way first on hands and 
knees and then crawling on his stomach. 
The little girl — who evidently had no 
anxiety for her own safety — clapped her 
hands with delight, while the two women 
looked on with satisfaction and relief as 
Tom took hold of the handle of the trunk 
and dragged it out through the door. 

[ 105 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


In the meantime Dick had run around 
to the back of the house ; and, after look- 
ing carefully for some time along the row 
of windows on the third story, recognized 
something white in the corner, pushing up 
against a pane of glass. He looked steadily 
for about half a minute, when he saw it 
move, and made up his mind that it was the 
cat. Quickly he measured the distance 
to the window with his eye, and noted the 
fact that a stone wall ran up about four 
feet, and also that a rain-pipe ascended from 
the top of the wall up to and past the win- 
dow at a distance of about two feet to the 
left. If he could only climb up that rain- 
pipe and open the window, in case it was 
unbolted, he could give the cat a chance to 
jump upon his shoulder. 

But there was something in Dick that did 
not want to do it ; something that told 
him it would be a mighty unpleasant 
thing to slip down and get killed just then, 
or even to break an arm or leg. He knew 
what a painful thing a broken arm was, 
for he had been with his aunt once when she 
[ 106 ] 


SCOUTS TO THE RESCUE 

had slipped upon the ice and fallen back- 
ward, striking her elbow on the hard sur- 
face. He knew how much she had suffered, 
even after the arm was set, before she had 
regained the use of it. All these thoughts 
went through his mind in a flash. Then 
there came to him the voice of the little 
girl crying for her kitty ; and then, again, 
like a quiet voice rising from somewhere 
inside of him, the familiar words, “A 
scout is brave.” It brought up the scene 
at prayers on the berth deck of the Bright 
Wing and the sound of another voice 
that was saying: “Without honor life is 
not worth living.” And all of a sudden 
Dick made up his mind that nothing was 
of any consequence to him at that mo- 
ment but to save the kitten. The next 
instant he thought of Chippie, crawling on 
his way through the suffocating smoke, 
and ran back to the front door and up the 
stairs as far as he could go, calling out to 
him to come back, for they could rescue 
the cat through the window. To his sur- 
prise Chippie was already on his way out, 
[ 107 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


having found it impossible to force the 
inner door, which was secured by a latch 
from within. Dick hurried him out into 
the fresh air and around to his station at 
the back of the house. 

“Here, Chippie, give me a boost up this 
wall, and I guess I can get up the water- 
spout all right.” 

It was difficult work, because he could 
not get his legs fully around the pipe, for 
it was too near the wall ; but Dick had a 
pretty good knee grip from having ridden 
bareback at home, and he managed to 
hold with his knees enough of the distance 
that he had gained with his hands to make 
some headway. He would grasp with 
both hands and lift up his knees, and they 
would slide down again about half-way; 
but, nevertheless, he would make on an 
average about six inches every pull, and at 
the end of five minutes’ strenuous work his 
shoulder was above the level of the window. 
Here, luckily, a brick had fallen out of the 
wall, making a little place where he could 
rest one foot; and so he waited for a 
[ 108 ] 



She seemed to be measuring the distance to a really secure 
footing on Dick’s shoulder. Page 109 . 









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SCOUTS TO THE RESCUE 

minute or two to get his breath before 
reaching out to the window. He soon re- 
covered his wind and stretched out his 
hand ; but, although the window was not 
bolted, he could not raise it because his 
hand was too far from the center. He 
then determined to break the pane of glass 
nearest to him; and, reaching into his 
pocket, pulled out his jackknife, and, with 
two sharp strokes, knocked a hole into the 
pane without injuring his hand. But his 
arm was not long enough to reach the kit- 
ten, and all that he could do was to hold 
it out within easy distance for her to step 
on. Kitty’s fur was bristling with fear, 
but it was interesting to note with what 
daintiness she managed to step over the 
broken glass on to the outer sill. Then 
came a few moments of apparent reflection 
while she seemed to be measuring the dis- 
tance to a really secure footing on Dick’s 
shoulder. He encouraged her with his 
voice ; and, with a single spring, she landed on 
his shoulder with her claws piercing through 
his coat and dangerously near his skin. 

[ 109 1 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


Then Dick began his journey downward, 
which was, of course, easier than the up- 
ward climb. It was a question of putting 
on the brakes, but did not take more than 
forty seconds. 

In the meantime, Chippie had got most 
of the smoke out of his eyes, and had been 
watching Dick with breathless interest. 
Then they thought of the little girl and 
the two women and started off in pur- 
suit; and they soon noticed, at a little 
distance, a large trunk being carried by a 
woman and a boy, with an old woman and 
a little girl accompanying them. In an- 
other minute Dick was handing the kitty to 
her small mistress; and, when the little 
girl had done all she could to show her 
delight, Dick and Chippie took charge of 
carrying the trunk to relieve Mrs. Green 
and Tom, and they all kept together until 
they reached the Common. 

Here they found a large number of people 
who had taken refuge with their household 
goods and chattels; and, when they had 
discovered a vacant bench for the two 
[ 110 ] 


SCOUTS TO THE RESCUE 

women and the little girl, they sat down on 
the ground themselves to hold a council 
of war. It was now six o’clock and pretty 
near supper time. Was there room at the 
Salem Fraternity to give shelter to their 
party for the night, or was there room in 
any of the tents pitched on the Common.? 
But Dick cut all these considerations short 
by saying : 

“The first thing to do is to report to Mr. 
Miller, tell him all the facts, and receive 
our instructions. Tom, you and Chippie 
stand by the ladies here in case they should 
want anything immediately, and I will go 
back to the Boys’ Club, You will prob- 
ably hear from me again in half or three- 
quarters of an hour.” 

Dick reported the facts as briefly as 
possible to Mr. Miller, who took down the 
names of Mrs, Mitchell and her daughter, 
Mrs. Green, and listened to Dick’s descrip- 
tion of the place on the Common where 
they were sitting under the protection 
of Tom and Chippie. After consulting 
with the superintendent, he told Dick to 
[ 111 1 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 

take supplies for supper, and to inform the 
party that they would be welcome in tent 
Number 6, where two other families, simi- 
larly situated, were to pass the night. 

In the meantime, the fourth division 
from the Bright Wing had arrived, and 
had been at work for some time. Sleeping 
quarters were provided for the boys in rooms 
at the top of the Boys’ Club ; and, when 
it was time for them to turn in, they felt 
mighty well after all their hard work, and 
mighty tired. 

For some reason or other, Dick’s thoughts 
wandered away from the exciting experi- 
ences of the day, and kept returning to 
that game of baseball, when his touching 
second base had been questioned ; he did not 
feel happy about it, and as he went to sleep, 
the words, “A scout is trustworthy”, kept 
rising up and passing through his mind. 

Chippie Smith dreamed of a procession 
of white and black cats climbing up the 
waterspout to the top of a house, crossing 
the roof, and then quietly walking down like 
flies on the other side. 

[ 112 ] 


CHAPTER X 
In Marblehead Harbor 
T the request of the superintendent of 



the Boys’ Club, the Sea Scouts re- 
mained in Salem one more day and night. 
By that time the militia had arrived, and 
the worst of the emergency was over. The 
fire had been put out since the night after 
their arrival, and the relief committee for 
the whole city was thoroughly organized 
and in working order. When they had 
said good-by to the superintendent and as 
many of their new friends as they could 
find at the moment the boys started, after 
breakfast, on their way back to the ship. 
The scene was quite different from that 
through which they had marched on that 
first afternoon. There was no fire burning 
anywhere ; and, in the high wind, most of 


[ 113 1 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


the cinders had been blown out to sea; 
but there were desolate proofs of the de- 
struction wrought in the charred and 
broken walls of the forsaken houses which, 
only a few days before, had been cheerful 
and comfortable homes. They passed by 
groups of people who were walking about 
inspecting the ruins, and overheard an old 
man saying; 

“They say fire is a good servant but a 
poor master — and I guess they’re right. 
What do you say, Joe?” 

Dick Gray, Tom, and Chippie walked 
together and talked over their adventures. 

Soldiers belonging to the militia were 
standing sentry at different points to pro- 
tect the property that had not yet been 
removed, and they also had charge of the 
street traflSc, so that no carriages or auto- 
mobiles that were not engaged in rescue 
work were permitted within the burnt 
district. 

Dick told the other boys of the rescue 
of a blind man by one of the Salem scouts. 
The poor fellow had been found in the 
[ 114 ] 


IN MARBLEHEAD HARBOR 


railway station, hearing the strange sounds 
and feeling the fire creeping nearer, but 
not knowing which way to turn. Tom, 
on the other hand, told them about his 
first-aid adventure with the woman and 
the doctor, of which he had not spoken 
previously to any one except Mr. Miller. 

Then it suddenly occurred to him that, 
as they were all three together and prac- 
tically alone, this would be a good op- 
portunity to speak to Dick about a matter 
which he and Chippie had talked of to- 
gether, and which had been on their minds 
for some days past. So Tom changed the 
subject rather suddenly and said : 

“Dick, Chip and I have been wondering 
what you have had such a grouch about 
lately ; can you tell us ? ” 

“What do you want to know for?” 
answered Dick rather gruffly. 

“Well,” replied Tom, “it has something 
to do with the law about being cheerful — • 
hasn’t it ? And aren’t we three sworn 
brothers-in-arms to see that we keep the 
law?” 


1 115 1 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


Dick did not answer at once, and he 
didn’t seem to relish what Tom was say- 
ing. But Chippie piped up next : 

“Don’t you remember, Dick, when you 
said you wanted to learn to keep the 
scout law, or bust ? and we all three agreed 
to stand by each other?” 

There was no answer, and they walked 
along in silence, until finally Dick said, in 
quite a different tone: 

“Say, fellows, I’ve got something to tell 
you,” and in their interest to hear what 
he had to say, the two others stopped 
walking and the three heads bent forward 
together. 

After about five minutes’ talk, they re- 
sumed their walk and soon reached the 
wharf. They all three had a rather 
troubled expression as they joined their 
comrades, got into the boats, rowed out 
to the ship, clambered up the side-ladder 
and saluted the quarter-deck, — all seemed 
in a kind of daze. Most of the other 
boys felt as if they had been asleep, too, 
and had just waked up from an exciting 
[ 116 ] 


IN MARBLEHEAD HARBOR 


dream. They gathered around the day 
bunk, talking over the incidents of the past 
two days, when suddenly “first call” to 
quarters was sounded. This finally woke 
them up completely and brought them to 
a realization of present duty. 

As they stood up in their places at quar- 
ters, there was a general inspection of 
clothing; some of the working suits were 
so badly used up as to be almost beyond 
repair. 

Before the company was dismissed, the 
Chairman made a few remarks, during 
which he praised the work of the company 
in general, and told the boys there would 
probably be more to say on the subject 
after the meeting of the next officers’ 
conference, which would sit as a Court of 
Honor. It was also announced that there 
would be no instruction or drill for the re- 
mainder of the day, but that all the boys 
could go in swimming and take a rest 
until supper time. Wind and weather 
permitting, the ship was to sail for North- 
bridge the following morning. Everybody 
[ 117 1 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


noticed that the Chairman and Mr. Miller 
were in high good humor. 

There was a good swim that afternoon 
and a lot of frolicking in the water off the 
ship’s side; and, although a few of the 
boys were so tired that they crawled into 
their bunks and slept until they heard the 
bugle call for “mess cooks below”, most 
of them were gathered in groups, either on 
the day bunk or in the jib netting, to talk 
over the events of the last two days. 

The chief work that the boys had done 
was in carrying food to people on the Com- 
mon and in helping to load baggage and 
furniture that was taken out of the houses 
upon trucks and vans; and, when Chippie 
told the story of Dick Gray’s rescue of the 
white cat, some of the company took it 
more as a joke than anything else, and 
thought it was not much of a thing to do, 
considering how easy it was to get a cat 
whenever you wanted one, and how many 
kittens were drowned every day. 

Chippie took up the cudgels for Dick 
and thought that it was no joke for any 
[ 118 ] 


IN MARBLEHEAD HARBOR 

creature, either animal or man, to burn to 
death. 

“If you could ask the cat what she thinks 
of it, I guess she’d say it was a mighty good 
job!” 

Dick was entirely silent throughout the 
controversy; but, somehow or other, his 
mind seemed to have got the habit of re- 
calling parts of the scout law on every 
possible occasion. And now, as he listened 
to the clamor of the talk around him, he 
heard again that same quiet voice which 
had spoken to him as he contemplated 
the waterspout in Mrs. Green’s back yard. 
This time it kept repeating the words, 
“Shall protect all harmless life.” Then 
that old idea of the baseball game and 
second base came jumping up into his mind 
again, and he thought to himself : 

“Why shouldn’t I have a talk with Mr. 
Miller about that ? ” There was something 
queer going on in Dick’s mind that he did 
not quite understand himself. 

At the recreation hour, after supper, 
there were several good sparring matches 
[ 119 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


and a lot of singing; and, during one of 
the less noisy intervals, Dick noticed Mr. 
Miller standing all alone and leaning up 
against the foremast stays. He seemed to 
be quietly watching the scene in front of 
him, and every now and then the flicker of 
a smile played over his features. 

“Now’s my chance,” said Dick to him- 
self. “There’s a full fifteen minutes be- 
fore prayers.” 

Dick’s working trousers had been 
pretty badly worn on the waterspout, 
and he had been wondering whether 
he should have to patch the holes, or 
whether, considering the circumstances, he 
could get a new pair, — but it was not 
about his trousers that he was waiting to 
speak to Mr. Miller. He had a kind of 
sickish feeling that seemed to be getting 
worse and worse as time went on. He 
felt as if he were two boys instead of one. 
The boy who had been working along with 
Tom Shefiield and Chippie Smith all over 
Salem — the boy who had climbed up 
the waterspout, and who had beaten down 
[ 120 ] 


IN MARBLEHEAD HARBOR 


the desire to shirk and be a coward — was 
not the same boy who had played in the 
baseball game at Hull. On the other hand, 
that boy of the baseball game seemed to be 
not unlike the boy who had been scared to 
risk his neck in saving the little girl’s cat. 

It is not a pleasant thing to have two 
people inside of you when they are fighting 
with one another. And this is what seemed 
to be happening to Dick Gray; and the 
more he tried to do his duty as a scout, 
the more these two boys inside of him 
wanted to fight and kick up a dust. So, 
as Dick was looking at Mr. Miller stand- 
ing in the dusk against the evening sky, 
Dick Number 1 repeated : 

“I guess now is the time,” and started 
to walk forward in the right direction ; 
but he hadn’t got much more than half- 
way toward Mr. Miller when Dick Number 
2 whispered : 

“Never mind about the baseball game; 
ask him about your working pants ! ” and 
the next moment he was standing before 
Mr. Miller with his hand lifted to the 
[ 121 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


salute. Mr. Miller did not notice the 
suppressed excitement in his face, nor did 
he hear the thumping of his heart, as he 
remarked, with assumed quietness : 

“I got my pants badly torn in Salem 
the other day, sir, and I’d like to know 
whether I can get another pair?” 

“You coward! You coward!” whis- 
pered Dick Number 1 inside, before Mr. 
Miller could answer. 

“Oh! let me see,” said Mr. Miller. 
“They are rather badly done up, aren’t 
they ? How did you get them torn so 
badly?” 

“Climbing a waterspout, sir,” said Dick. 

Mr. Miller smiled, and then there was 
a little pause. 

“That is not a question you should 
come to me with. Gray; report to your 
boatswain’s mate, and he will report to 
me for the whole section. Lots of other 
boys have torn their clothes.” 

“Ay, ay, sir,” replied Dick, with a sa- 
lute, and turned away. 

But he did not get any fun out of the 
[ 122 ] 


IN MARBLEHEAD HARBOR 


sports on deck that night, and the words, 
“You coward! You coward!” kept ring- 
ing in his ears. 

After taps that evening there was of- 
ficers’ conference in the cabin; and, when 
certain routine matters had been disposed 
of, the rescue work in Salem was talked 
over very thoroughly. All the boys had 
behaved well, and some of the little ones 
had done almost too much. Jack Perkins 
had been in immediate charge of organizing 
the groups and of overseeing their work, 
and he had managed his task so well that 
he had been able to make careful notes 
of pretty nearly everything that had been 
done. 

This, of course, was a great help to the 
Court of Honor in awarding their com- 
mendations, and it was voted first that 
Jack Perkins should be commended at 
quarters the following day. Five other 
boys, including Chippie and Tom, who 
had done especially hard work in saving 
and carrying valuables out of burning 
houses, were commended, and besides it was 
[ 123 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


decided to give Tom a commendation for 
the incident with the doctor. 

Finally, the question of Dick Gray and the 
cat came up ; and although it was undoubt- 
edly a genuine case of saving life, a doubt 
arose as to whether such an act as Dick’s 
constituted “life saving” in its real sense. 

There was an interesting discussion on 
this point, and it was finally decided that 
the meaning of “life saving”, in its con- 
nection with the merit badge, could only 
refer to the saving of human life, but that 
Dick’s act was an emphatic instance of 
obedience to Law Number 6 : 

“He is a friend to animals. He will not 
kill nor hurt any living creature needlessly, 
but will strive to save and protect all harm- 
less life.” 

The Court also found that it involved, 
though perhaps less conspicuously, an up- 
right obedience to Law Number 10: “A 
scout is Brave.” 

It was therefore decided to award Dick 
not the medal for “life saving”, but a 
special commendation. 

[ 124 ] 


IN MARBLEHEAD HARBOR 


The ofBcers present felt that the same 
doubt which had arisen in some of their 
own minds would naturally arise in the 
minds of the boys, and particularly hoped 
that the Chairman would make the whole 
question clear at quarters on the following 
day. 

When the meeting was over, all the of- 
ficers seemed pleased at the result, and, 
after a stroll on deck, Mr. Miller and the 
Chairman went below. 

“Good night, sir,” said Mr. Miller to the 
Chairman, after they were in their bunks. 
“Something is going on inside of that 
boy. Gray. There is no doubt that he did 
a plucky and unselfish thing, and it will 
probably help him to see some other things 
in their true light.” 

“That’s just what I think, Mr. Miller; 
I believe in the boy. Good night,” and 
the Chairman turned over in his bunk and 
went to sleep. 


[ 125 ] 


CHAPTER XI 


Dick’s Confession 


’^EXT morning all hands were on deck 
at five o’clock to weigh anchor and 
set sail. It was a beautiful morning with 
a light breeze from the northeast which 
was just about a head wind. 

The Captain was on the quarter-deck 
giving his orders, which were repeated by 
the mate a little forward of amidships. 
The boatswain was forward near the jib 
halyards, and Jack Perkins was busy look- 
ing out for his own section and watching 
to see that the other “B.M.’s” were doing 
the same thing. The master-at-arms was 
down below, hurrying up a couple of lazy 
lubbers who were inclined to dawdle in- 
stead of getting out on deck. 

[ 126 1 


DICK’S CONFESSION 

Mr. Wentworth stood with watch in 
hand ready to time the different operations 
for the ship’s log, and Chippie Smith, who 
had been detailed as recorder, waited with 
pencil and paper in his hand. Everything 
went more smoothly than usual, and the 
work was watched with great interest by 
the Chairman, who wanted the boys to 
grow even more skilful and efficient in 
handling the ship. No noise was allowed 
while the work of getting under way was 
going on, — no whistling, or singing, or 
anything which might possibly drown the 
voice of the Captain in giving orders, or 
of the other officers in repeating them. 
The consequence was that the Captain 
could give his commands in a comparatively 
low tone which was distinctly heard; and 
this, in itself, tended to prevent confusion. 

The jib and jumbo went up respectively 
in three and two minutes ; the foresail and 
the mainsail in six and eight minutes. 
Jack Perkins, as Chief Boatswain’s Mate, 
had prepared for the morning’s work the 
night before by holding a little council 
[ 127 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


with the three other “B.M.’s” and going 
over with them in detail the duties and 
stations of the four different sections. 
As a result, the work was very prompt, 
each “B.M.” at his station with his own 
section listening carefully to get the orders 
either from the Captain or the mate, or 
the boatswain, according to his position 
on deck, and then repeating them promptly 
and quietly to his own boys and leading 
them in carrying out the manoeuvre — 
whatever it might be. 

When the anchor was hoisted, the sails 
caught the breeze on the starboard tack 
and the Bright Wing worked out of the 
harbor against the wind. Once outside, 
the breeze began to rise, and everybody 
felt the delight that comes from the buoy- 
ancy of the water and the freshness of the 
wind and spray. 

“I’m glad it’s a head wind,” said Tom 
to Dick, who was sitting alongside him on 
the day bunk, “because it will take us 
longer to get to Northbridge, and we’ll 
get more of a sail.” 

[ 128 ] 


DICK’S CONFESSION 


“You bet,” said Dick, “shouldn’t won- 
der if we got a spanking breeze pretty- 
soon. I thought I saw a little water com- 
ing through a lee scupper for’ard, just 
now. The old ship seems to sail best on 
her side, anyway.” 

The conversation was interrupted by 
the boatswain’s whistle for “scrub and 
wash clothes”; and all who did not be- 
long to the watch went down and started 
scrubbing their clothes. In ten minutes 
the clothes were up on the lines, and the 
decks were being scrubbed — after the 
cabin skylight and portholes had been 
securely closed — with a smile in memory 
of Mr. Miller’s discomfiture two days 
before. Then came personal washing for 
every individual, followed by mess inspec- 
tion and breakfast. 

Everybody had been so busy all the 
early morning that the great event of the 
day which was to happen at quarters had 
been temporarily forgotten ; but, after 
the first keen edge of appetite was satis- 
fied, interest and curiosity asserted them- 
[ 129 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


selves as to what was going to be done 
about the work at Salem, and who was to 
receive awards or commendation. 

Of course everybody knew that Jack 
Perkins had done a lot of good work, and 
had been responsible for seeing that orders 
were carried out. He was always a val- 
uable man in any kind of business, because 
he never forgot things himself and always 
reminded his subordinates when they were 
apt to forget. As far as the boys could 
judge, they all had tried their best, but of 
course some had been more successful 
than others. As regards Dick Gray, the 
company were divided in opinion, some 
believing that the rescue of a cat would 
not be even mentioned in an official Order 
of the Day, and others asserting their 
belief that he would receive the medal for 
“life saving.” Tom and Chippie were 
especially earnest advocates of the value 
of Dick’s achievement. 

“It wasn’t his fault that it was only a 
cat,” said they. “He would have done the 
same thing if it had been a boy or girl ! ” 

[ 130 ] 


DICK’S CONFESSION 


Dick had been up on deck among the 
very first that morning and had enjoyed 
getting under way in the fresh morning 
air. He went below to breakfast with 
the others in high spirits ; but when he 
heard the talk about the coming awards 
and so forth, it made him feel queer, and 
the feeling stuck to him — even after he 
was on deck again polishing brasses. 

After the usual roll call at quarters, the 
“setting up” exercises caused a good deal 
of amusement because the deck was rather 
sharply inclined, and the vessel was bound- 
ing along quite briskly. Some of the green 
hands kept losing their footing and tum- 
bling about, and the regular climbing over 
the masthead was omitted. Then came 
the command, “Attention, — About face”, 
and all turned toward the quarter-deck to 
hear what the Chairman was going to say. 

“Boys,” said he, “I am glad we had the 
opportunity of going ashore at Marble- 
head and giving a little help at the Salem 
fire. It is a thing that we shall all remem- 
ber, and the next chance we get we shall be 
[ 131 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


able to do better because of this experience. 
But we must not forget that such things as 
these are all in our day’s work, and should 
be careful not to feel that we have done 
anything very great or exceptional in trying 
to help people in an emergency. It is 
something that our training is intended to 
help us to do as a matter of course, and all 
the different things that we do for the sake 
of training are made much more interesting 
than they otherwise would be, by using 
them in practical service whenever an op- 
portunity occurs. 

“But, although we want to be careful 
not to be vain or foolish because we have 
had the privilege of doing such things as 
it is the duty of every scout to do, when 
he gets a chance, we must recognize good 
work when we see it, so as to encour- 
age one another to do more such work, 
and to do it better and better as time 
goes on.” 

He then turned and spoke in a low voice 
to Mr. Miller, who immediately gave the 
command : 


[ 132 ] 


DICK’S CONFESSION 


“Perkins — front and center!” 

Jack immediately marched down and 
stood directly opposite the Chairman. 

“Perkins,” said the Chairman, “the 
Court of Honor, especially convened to 
consider the work of the ship’s company 
at the Salem fire, have decided that your 
work ashore was of excellent quality and 
deserves the commendation of the Court. 
The Court commends you for carrying out 
your instructions promptly and with good 
judgment.” 

Jack saluted, and, at the word of com- 
mand, marched back to his regular position. 

Malloy, Young, Ellsworth, and Smith 
were then ordered to “front and center” 
and stood “at attention” before the 
Chairman. 

“It gives me pleasure to tell you, boys,” 
said the Chairman, “that you have been 
especially commended for good work at the 
Salem fire.” 

All saluted, and at the words “About face 
— march”, from Mr. Miller, returned to 
their positions with a grin upon their faces. 

[ 133 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


Then Tom was ordered forward, and 
received a commendation for efficient first- 
aid work in helping to save a woman by 
stopping the flow of blood from a severed 
artery. There was general surprise at 
Tom’s first-aid commendation, for none of 
the boys knew about the incident except 
Dick and Chippie. 

“Just like him,” muttered Malloy; 
“with all his talk about Gray and the cat, 
he hasn’t let on about himself at all!” 

“Gray, front and center,” was the next 
command. 

Dick took his position “at attention” 
before the Chairman, with the most sol- 
emn face you could possibly imagine. 

“Boys,” said the Chairman, addressing 
them all together, “the Court finds that 
the case of Gray is somewhat different 
from the others and requires special atten- 
tion. Not only did he do good work in 
helping in a rescue and in moving belong- 
ings to a place of safety, but he actually 
saved life, although the life was only 
that of a little animal, — a little girl’s 
[ 134 ] 


DICK’S CONFESSION 


pet. The regular medal for ‘life saving’ 
could not be awarded in such a case, be- 
cause that is reserved as a reward for the 
saving of human life only; for, while the 
law recognizes the sacredness of all harm- 
less life, it makes an important distinction 
between the value of human life and that 
of an animal. However, the qualities of 
unselfishness and courage which Gray has 
shown in saving a kitten from the third 
story of a burning house are qualities 
which he or any other would need in 
saving human life under similar circum- 
stances.” 

While the Chairman was saying these 
words, Mr. Miller was watching Dick’s 
face attentively, for it was getting paler 
and paler, more and more troubled. 

“The Court, therefore,” resumed the 
Chairman, “not only commends” — here 
the Chairman paused as he noticed the ex- 
pression on Dick’s face. 

“What’s the matter. Gray?” he asked 
kindly, in a low voice. 

“I — I — can’t take it ! ” muttered Dick. 

[ 135 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


“ Don’t ask me now. May I speak to Mr. 
Miller for a minute ?” 

All this had been said in an undertone, 
and the whole company was stirred by a 
feeling, partly of curiosity, and partly of 
discomfort. Mr. Miller was standing 
within earshot, and the Chairman nodded 
to him. Then Mr. Miller beckoned to 
Dick and led him down the ladder into 
the cabin. 

The boys were then ordered to remain 
“at ease”, and every one looked at his 
neighbor as if to say : 

“I wonder what is going to happen 
next.^” 

Presently Mr. Miller appeared on deck 
again and reported to the Chairman in a 
low voice; and, in a few minutes more, 
he went back to get Dick, and they both 
stood alongside the Chairman. 

The general feeling of suspense by this 
time had grown extremely acute, when 
the Chairman said : 

“Boys, Gray has asked permission to 
say something to us all before we go on 
[ 136 ] 


DICK’S CONFESSION 


with awarding the honors. I ask you to 
listen to him with careful attention. His 
only object in talking to you now is to do 
his full duty as a Boy Scout under very 
trying circumstances.” 

Dick had had a good, frank talk with 
Mr. Miller in the cabin below, and had 
cleared his mind of a weight that had been 
pressing down on him for some time past, 
although he had not, until that morning, 
faced the necessity for action with perfect 
clearness. He now had determined to 
make a clean breast of the whole matter 
and to accept his just penalty — whatever 
that might be — like a man. 

“I want to say, fellows,” said he, “that 
the umpire was wrong in the game at Hull, 
when he decided in my favor about sec- 
ond base. I never touched it. I got 
around to third and then home without 
ever having come within six inches of 
second base, except after I had been fairly 
put out. I haven’t any excuse; I knew 
it was wrong, but I did not know how 
wrong it was. I have done other things 
[ 137 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


like that before, and I thought they were 
smart. Now you know it, and maybe I 
shall lose my scout badge. I have lost the 
right to wear it, anyway, and you can see 
as well as I that I can’t accept any honor 
for what happened at Salem.” 

He then turned to the Chairman, who 
said with a very quiet voice : 

“You may go below for the present, 
Gray.” 

The Chairman, Mr. Miller, and Mr. 
Wentworth then consulted together, and 
finally asked Jack Perkins to join them. 
The whole company was impressed by 
the solemnity of the incident. The Chair- 
man explained to the boys that the ques- 
tion of awarding an honor to Gray under 
the present circumstances must be recon- 
sidered in the light of his confession. 

“But,” said he, “I can assure you of 
one thing: however wrong Gray has been 
in the past, I respect him for his straight- 
forwardness to-day. Let me warn you 
boys against treating this matter in any 
way that might appear to be mean or 
[ 138 ] 


DICK’S CONFESSION 


disrespectful to a fellow scout. It would 
be a base and brutal thing to treat lightly 
such humiliation as this.” 

Judging from the faces of the boys as 
they separated when they were dismissed, 
it seemed as if the warning of the Chair- 
man were hardly necessary. They were 
all sorry for Dick and greatly surprised, 
but owing to his frank and public confes- 
sion, they had a feeling of confidence that 
everything would turn out right in the 
end. 


[ 139 ] 


CHAPTER XII 

Another Meeting of the Club 

TOURING the evening recreation hour, 
when everybody was on deck, Tom, 
Chippie, and Dick had a quiet talk be- 
low, sitting on Tom’s locker. Each one 
of the three felt the urgent need of their 
getting together and talking over, with 
the utmost frankness, everything that had 
happened since the morning of the base- 
ball game at Hull ; but now that they were 
sitting alone face to face, there did not 
seem so very much to say after all, because 
of their talk on the way back from Salem 
and Dick’s manly confession before all 
the boys. 

“I’m glad you came out with it all, 
this morning, Dick,” said Tom. “It must 
[ 140 ] 


ANOTHER IHEETING OF THE CLUB 


have hurt to have all the fellows know 
about it, and there was nothing to force 
you to tell except your honor.” 

“Yes,” chimed in Chippie, “you might 
have covered it up and taken the commen- 
dation, and no one would have been any 
the wiser !” 

“Yep,” retorted Dick, with a grim look, 
“but how do you think I would have 
felt? Don’t you suppose that dirty trick 
I played at Hull would have gnawed in- 
side of me? I don’t suppose you fellows 
know how much it hurts — when you 
have a right to know better. If it hadn’t 
been for our talk on the way back from 
Salem, and the cat, and all that they 
brought up to me about honor and the 
scout law, maybe I might have forgotten 
the Hull business — for the time, anyway ; 
but I’m mighty glad I didn’t. Say, boys,” 
said he, with a sudden gleam of animation, 
“it’s like when you’ve eaten something 
that goes against you ; you can’t get right 
till you’ve thrown it up!” 

“To-morrow is Sunday,” said Tom, 
[ 141 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 

“and we expect to drop anchor in North- 
bridge to-night. All hands are going ashore 
to church in the morning, and there’s 
liberty in the afternoon. What do you 
fellows say to a meeting of the Club on 
Duck Island ? ” 

“A-1 !” answered Dick. 

“Bet your life!” exclaimed Chippie, 
“I’d like to hear that story over again 
about ‘After you, pilot’, and the fellow 
that went down the manhole. I say, 
Tom, I think we ought to write that out 
and keep it in a secret and safe place in 
the shack. I’m thinking we may like to 
remind ourselves of that story once in a 
while. You see this time it was Dick that 
made a break, and I guess it was because 
he forgot all about his oath in the excite- 
ment of the game. But maybe next time 
it would be you or me, Tom, that would 
be tempted in some such way. We might 
as well be prepared for the worst, and then 
the enemy can never catch us asleep.” 

“You’re a good one. Chip,” cried Dick, 
and gave his comrade a thump on the 
[ 142 ] 


ANOTHER MEETING OF THE CLUB 


back. “That makes me feel that we’re 
working together, and that the Club is a 
real live thing. Before you said that, I 
had a sneaking feeling that nobody could 
be as bad as I was, and that makes a fel- 
low feel kind of washed out and discour- 
aged.” 

“Now it’s time to go on deck, for the fel- 
lows will be coming down to prayers in a 
few minutes,” said Tom. “We’ll write 
that story out carefully with ink in the 
shack to-morrow afternoon”; and, as they 
approached the companionway. Chippie 
gave Dick a shove up ahead of them and 
whispered in his ear: “After you, pilot!” 

There were only a few minutes to wait 
on deck before prayers, and Dick felt 
relieved and refreshed, first, because the 
load of unacknowledged guilt had rolled 
off him and had seemed to sink to the 
bottom of the sea; and secondly, because 
he felt the respect and sympathy of his 
brothers-in-arms. Dick Number 1 was in 
the saddle, and ready for action. 

They came to anchor at Northbridge 
[ 143 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


at about nine o’clock that evening, and 
the next morning all hands landed and 
went to church. The Northbridge boys 
then joined their families for dinner, while 
the others returned on board and landed 
again in the afternoon to take a hike 
through the surrounding country. Tom, 
Dick, and Chippie met, according to their 
agreement, at the shack on Duck Island 
at four o’clock. 

“You call the meeting to order, Tom,” 
said Chippie, “that’s your business; and, 
as Dick’s brother was the one who told us 
the story, I vote Dick had better tell it to 
us the best he knows how, only slowly — 
and I’ll write it down, and you can tell us 
when you think we’re off the track.” 

“Chip’s a pretty good manager, eh, 
Dick.?^” said Tom. “Here he orders me 
to call the meeting to order and then goes 
on and tries to run it himself ! Wdiat do 
you think of that, sonny?” 

“All right, Tom, it’s your show,” said 
Chippie, “only for goodness’ sake, begin.” 

“This meeting will now come to order,” 
[ 144 ] 


ANOTHER MEETING OP THE CLUB 


said Tom solemnly. “Does everybody 
agree to what Chippie has said? If so, 
get your pen and paper ready. Chip, 
and you, Dick, begin the story.” 

There was a pause, and then Dick asked : 
“What was the name of the ship?” 

Tecumseh,” said Tom. 

“Write that down, Chip,” said Dick, 
“the name of the ship was Tecumseh” ; 
and then he went on with the facts of the 
story, helped along by suggestions from 
Tom and Chippie. It took them quite 
a long time to get through, but finally 
they came to the last sentence: “And so 
Captain Craven gave up his life to do his 
duty as a good scout, and to keep his 
oath and law ; and so, to remind them of 
his brave and courteous act, the officers 
of the Navy have the custom of saying, 
‘After you, pilot’ when one of them steps 
back to make way for another; and also, 
because we want to be reminded of his 
brave and courteous act and faithfulness 
to his oath and law, we — the members of 
the Triangle Club of Duck Island — have 
[ 145 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


written out this story to read once in a 
while, and have taken ‘After you, Pilot’ 
as our motto.” 

“I move,” cried Chippie, “that we adopt 
this as the charter of the Club.” 

“What’s a charter?” asked Dick. 

“It means what the Club’s about,” 
said Chippie quickly. 

“Well, if that’s so,” answered Dick, 
“I think there ought to be something else 
in the Charter.” 

“What’s that?” asked the others eagerly. 

“WTiy, what we said in the beginning, 
when we first read the story, that each one 
of us pledges himself to do his best, first, 
to keep the law himself as well as he can, 
and then to help the others to do the same 
thing ; and — not only that — but each 
one will tell any other, when he sees him 
sliding off, the way you talked to me 
coming back from Salem.” 

Dick’s motion was unanimously agreed 
to, and then all three stood up and took 
hold of hands to confirm their pledge, 
thus also forming the triangle which was 
[ 146 ] 


ANOTHER MEETING OF THE CLUB 

the symbol of the Club. They then all 
three solemnly signed the document, affix- 
ing their scout signs; 



[ 147 ] 


CHAPTER XIII 


A Green Hand 

HILE the meeting of the Triangle 



~ ^ Club was going on at the Grays’ 
farm, Mr. Wentworth went ashore with 
the yeoman, — Bob Brackett — to meet 
a new boy who was to join the ship that 
afternoon. 

As soon as they had arrived at the 
landing, however, they were approached 
by a tall, elderly man who looked as if 
he had come from the country, and had 
rather a small boy at his side in the Land 
Scout uniform. 

“My name is Jackson,” said he, address- 
ing Mr. Wentworth, “and I have brought 
my nephew, William Brown, for whom, 
I understand, a berth has been reserved on 
the Bright Wing.’’ 


[ 148 ] 


A GREEN HAND 


“Yes, sir,” replied Mr. Wentworth cor- 
dially, “and I am very much obliged to 
you for being on hand so promptly, for 
you have saved me the trouble of looking 
you up at the hotel.” 

After shaking hands, Mr. Wentworth 
turned to Brown with a friendly nod, and 
then, facing Bob, he said : 

“This boy with the mail bag. Brown, is 
our yeoman, and we shall have to wait 
until he has been to the post office, before 
returning to the ship. Do you think, Mr. 
Jackson, that your nephew would like to 
go to the post office with the yeoman ? It 
might be pleasant for him to make friends 
with one of the crew before he goes aboard.” 

Mr. Jackson assented, and Billy Brown 
saluted awkwardly by throwing his arm 
out on one side and then bringing it up to 
the back of his head. “He’s a queer 
duck,” thought Bob, but his meditations 
were interrupted by Mr. Wentworth. 

“You can go now. Yeoman, and be as 
quick as you can. Remember you are on 
duty, and you have no other errand but 
[ 149 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


to post the outgoing and to fetch the in- 
coming mail.” 

Mr. Wentworth spoke with decision ; 
but his tone was so friendly that any 
boy would have felt inclined to obey him. 

The two scouts went off together at a 
smart pace; and, as they walked up the 
street, Mr. Wentworth noticed a great 
contrast in the way they held themselves. 
The same thought seemed to have entered 
Mr. Jackson’s mind. 

“I’m in great hopes,” he said, “that 
the drill and discipline on the Bright Wing 
may improve Billy’s physical condition. 
He is a studious boy, but he does not get 
enough fun or activity out of doors.” 

“I understand, sir,” said Mr. Went- 
worth; “he has an intelligent face and a 
good bright eye, but his body isn’t well 
gathered together. He seems to have a 
little stoop in the shoulders. For how 
long is he to be on board, sir?” 

“His berth is engaged for two weeks, 
but if there is room for him, he might pos- 
sibly stay longer.” 

[ 150 ] 


A GREEN HAND 


“Well,” said Mr. Wentworth, “a good 
deal can be done in two weeks if a boy is 
intelligent and willing, — I mean in the way 
of a start. A good brain and willing dispo- 
sition are the best sort of help to a boy for 
getting his body into shape ; for, if he can get 
a strong idea of physical balance into his 
mind, it will give him an interest in keeping 
his body up to the mark. But, of course, he 
needs practice and exercise, too. I under- 
stand, sir, that you are also coming on 
board ? ” 

“Yes,” replied Mr. Jackson, “I’m going 
as far as Provincetown, and then I shall 
have to take the train for home. I have 
not had a good sail for many years, and 
am looking forward with great pleasure 
to being on a Boy Scout ship.” 

Mr. Wentworth was very glad of this 
opportunity to find out the special needs 
of the new boy, and he looked forward 
particularly to reporting everything he had 
learned to the Chairman and Mr. Miller. 

“I shouldn’t wonder,” thought he to 
himself, “if we made a good light-weight 
[ 151 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


boxer of the lad before he leaves the ship; 
but the main thing is to teach him to gather 
himself together and to swim and row well.” 
He had a quick eye for such things. 

The conversation had not continued 
much longer when Bob and Billy reap- 
peared with a heavy load of letters and 
bundles in the mail bag. 

Fred Hamilton, the boatswain, was in 
charge of the launch that lay alongside 
the landing. Mr. Wentworth ordered the 
boys into her stern, and then got in him- 
self to give Mr. Jackson a hand. He then 
went forward to the wheel and the boat- 
swain stood by the engine. 

When they returned to the ship, it was 
recreation hour, and the music of the 
“ship’s band” greeted the newcomers 
across the water. Half a dozen hands 
were stretched over the side to catch the 
painter of the launch as she approached 
the side ladder. The Chairman and the 
Captain were standing on deck ready to 
welcome Mr. Jackson. 

Bob immediately took the mail below 
[ 152 ] 


A GREEN HAND 


and sorted it out according to regulations, 
while Mr. Wentworth went to the clothes 
locker to find a suit of “whites”, and a 
blue working suit to fit the new appren- 
tice seaman, William Brown. 

Billy’s “Station Billet” was made out 
within half an hour from the time he arrived, 
and Bob was detailed to explain it to him. 

Billy made out that he was Number 6 
in the Second Division, Second Section, 
which was in charge of Harold French, as 
“B.M.”, and Bob offered to take him to 
French so that he could report at once. 

French looked him over quietly and 
then said, “You know how to swim, I 
suppose ? ” 

“Yes,” said Billy, “Fve done my fifty 
yards.” 

“How about diving.?” asked French. 

Billy put his hand on his stomach with 
a smile and said with a peculiar drawl, 
“I’ve had a good many slaps right here. 
I’m not much good at that.” 

“Probably you don’t swim under water, 
then,” replied the “B.M.” 

[ 153 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


“No,” said Billy, “and we never went 
beyond our depth where I learned swim- 
ming.” 

“Well,” said French, “we’ll have to go 
with you under water the first chance we 
get, and I guess we can teach you a thing 
or two.” 

Billy answered these questions with a 
deliberate air and without any evidence 
of being ill at ease. He evidently was in 
the habit of thinking before he spoke, and 
carefully listening to what was said ; and, 
although his carriage was poor and his 
physique not particularly strong, French 
liked the clear, steady look in his eyes. 

As Billy was turning away, the “B.M.” 
called after him, “Say, young fellow, have 
you put your things into your locker and 
got them in order yet.?*” 

“Yes,” replied Brown. 

“Well,” said the “B.M.”, looking at 
his watch, “we’ve got twenty -five minutes 
before prayers, and I guess we can go for- 
ward and have ten minutes’ drill.” 

Then he turned for a minute to Dick 
[ 154 ] 


A GREEN HAND 


Gray who had just returned on board, and 
said in an undertone: “You just keep an 
eye on him, Dick, and show him the ropes.” 

At that moment there happened to be 
nobody on the forward deck, so that 
French and Billy and Dick had it all to 
themselves. French gave his commands 
in a comparatively subdued voice, so as 
not to attract a crowd, and then suggested 
to Brown a few simple ideas about the at- 
titude of respectful attention and the sig- 
nificance of it in the daily life of a scout, 
while Dick took the position to illustrate 
what French meant. 

Billy was rather awkward, and his large 
round eyeglasses and prominent ears gave 
him a queer look of somehow being out of 
place in his new surroundings ; but French 
noticed that he seemed to enjoy the drill 
and to take a genuine interest in what he 
was being taught. 

“Heels together, little finger on the 
seam of your trousers, chest up, stomach 
in, — don’t bend backwards, balance on 
the instep — neck straight, chin in. There, 
[ 155 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


sonny, that’s the way you want to hold 
yourself at quarters, or any time ‘at at- 
tention.’ But you can’t expect to do it 
easily without teaching your body to be 
strong in the right places. You seem kind 
of soft now, and here’s a little medicine 
that will help harden you a bit.” 

Then he and Dick showed him an exercise 
in deep breathing and stretching. “ Do that 
six times, two or three times a day, and I 
guess it will give you a lift,” said French. 

Billy thought of thanking French, but 
somehow or other felt that his gratitude 
would not be appreciated, — or else that 
he had better show it by making progress 
rather than by words, — so he drew him- 
self up straight and waited to see what 
was going to happen next. Just then the 
boatswain’s call sounded out sharp for 
prayers, and they all went down the com- 
panionway to the berth deck. 

Billy’s locker and bunk were not far 
from Dick’s, and after “tattoo” they un- 
dressed together and talked about a num- 
ber of things that had aroused Billy’s 
[ 156 ] 


A GREEN HAND 


curiosity. They were interrupted by the 
sounding of “taps”; and a minute after 
Bertie Young, the master-at-arms, made 
his rounds to see that all were in their 
bunks and that everything was quiet. 

“He knows mighty little about a ves- 
sel,” thought Dick, as he turned over in 
his bunk, “but he’s a great one for asking 
questions, and I shouldn’t wonder if he 
knew the whole thing before long.” 

In the next bunk but one, Billy lay 
thinking about the farm and the home 
folks. “I wonder,” thought he, “whether 
Roger has remembered the special feed for 
the calf.” Then, in another minute, he 
was thinking of the ship again, and of 
his present surroundings, and wondered 
how he could have come into so entirely 
different a world within only fifty miles 
of the world he had left behind him. 
“There are lots of things on board this 
ship,” thought he, “that I never heard of 
in my life; but I’ll do my best to learn 
every one of them, and won’t the boys at 
home be surprised ! ” 

[ 157 ] 


CHAPTER XIV 
The Key of the Keelson 



next morning, much to every one’s 


^ disappointment, the ship’s departure 
was delayed by a dead calm, and so the 
“routine at anchor’’ continued uninter- 
rupted. Meantime Mr. Jackson was mak- 
ing the most of his opportunities for 
observing the life on board. After fol- 
lowing the instruction of the four sections 
from one o’clock to half-past two, he 
promised himself to have a good talk with 
the Chairman and the Captain when the 
boys should have gone ashore for their 
liberty and everything on board would 
be comparatively quiet. 

Billy had his first experience of going 
over the masthead that morning; and, as 


[ 158 ] 


THE KEY OF THE KEELSON 


he was rather a sedentary boy, the thought 
of it made him feel a little queer. He did 
not like climbing or high places partic- 
ularly, but he simply used his common 
sense, and told himself that the thing 
had to he done and that there was no use 
thinking any more about it. Dick man- 
aged to get up just behind him so that 
he could watch him and give him a word 
of encouragement, if necessary, and things 
went on all right until they got nearly to 
the crosstrees. Then Dick noticed that 
Billy hesitated, and he reached his own arm 
well up beside him and whispered to him 
just where to put his hands and feet. The 
sound of Dick’s voice was all that little 
Bill needed, and he rallied immediately and 
climbed to the top, and then stepped across 
and began going down the other side. 

In the afternoon Mr. Jackson watched 
the string of white hats and jumpers dis- 
appear down the cabin companionway, 
as the boys went to get some of their 
money before going ashore ; and then 
the inspection of the same string drawn 
[ 159 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


up in line on deck before they got into 
the boats at three o’clock. He watched 
them row away from the ship with the 
“long boat” a little in advance, — their 
white hats and jumpers like so many dots, 
and their oar blades sparkling in the after- 
noon sun. 

As he turned his head away from this 
cheerful scene, he noticed the Chairman 
standing by his side and looking in the 
same direction. 

“They’re not a bad lot of youngsters,” 
said the latter, “and there’s just mischief 
enough in them to keep us busy.” 

“Have they all gone ashore?” asked 
Mr. Jackson. 

“All but a few,” replied the Chairman, 
and he blew his whistle. 

“Dick,” said he, turning to the mes- 
senger, who had just run up in answer to 
the signal, “find out how many boys are 
left on board.” 

In a few minutes Dick returned and 
gave the result of his search. 

“There are five, sir: the Chief ‘B.M.’, 
[ 160 ] 


THE KEY OF THE KEELSON 

reading a book in the jib netting, sir ; 
two forward, scrubbing sails for extra 
duty ; Tom Sheffield and the new boy, — 
Brown, sir, I think is his name.” 

“That makes six, counting you,” said 
the Chairman. 

“Yes, sir, I’m on duty as messenger 
until the liberty party returns.” 

“That’s well ! Now go and ask Brown 
to come up and speak to me.” 

Billy clambered up the berth deck lad- 
der, and, as he stood at salute before the 
Chairman and Mr. Jackson, the latter 
thought he already saw a change for the 
better in his bearing. 

“Sit down. Brown. This is a slack 
time, and I thought perhaps you’d like 
to have a little visit with your uncle.” 

“Yes, sir,” answered Billy, and he still 
spoke with the old-fashioned deliberation 
that Mr. Wentworth had noticed the eve- 
ning before at the landing. 

As he sat down, Mr. Jackson asked : 
“Well, how do you like it. Bill, as far as 
you have got?” 


[ 161 1 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 

“I like it first rate, uncle; seems to me 
I’m seeing something new every minute, 
and I like it, too ! I find I get twisted with 
so many new names of things, but I guess 
that will get all straightened out in a few 
days.” 

“What do you find hardest. Bill.'*” 

“Well, I guess it’s hardest for me to re- 
member to stand up straight; but that 
of mine — what’s his name — 
he’s a pretty good sort of a fellow, and 
gives me a dig in the ribs now and then; 
and then there’s Dick — I don’t know his 
last name — he’s a good ’un ! Oh ! That 
reminds me,” exclaimed Billy suddenly, 
“I had almost forgotten something!” 

Then turning to the Chairman : 

“Will you please tell me, sir, where I 
can find the key of the keelson 

A faint smile played over the Chair- 
man’s face as he asked the boy why he 
wanted it. 

“Well, the quartermaster, I think they 
call him, told me to get it, because the 
‘B.M.’ asked him for it, and he said he 
[ 162 ] 


THE KEY OF THE KEELSON 

had not seen it for some time ; so I went 
and asked the messenger, and he didn’t 
know where it was, and sent me to the 
boatswain; and the boatswain, he didn’t 
know where it was, and sent me to the 
mate, and the mate sent me to the Officer 
of the Day, and he said I’d better ask 
the Chairman of the Committee. It’s a 
mighty funny thing how a thing like that 
can get lost on board ship, for I haven’t 
noticed many things lying around loose.” 

The Chairman was silent for a few 
seconds, and then, “It is a funny thing. 
Brown,” said he, “but I’ll tell you what 
you do. The Captain is down in the 
cabin at this moment. You go and report 
to him from me, tell him your story, and 
say that I am sure that he can help you 
out.” 

“Shall I go now, sir.?” asked Billy. 

“Yes,” said the Chairman, “unless Mr. 
Jackson has something else to say to you.” 

But Mr. Jackson had nothing more to 
say just then except this : 

“When you have found out where the 
[ 163 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


key of the keelson is, Bill, I wish you 
would ask permission to show it to me, 
and then — bring the keelson along, too, 
so that we can examine it carefully and 
see whether the key really fits.” 

There was the slightest possible twinkle 
in Mr. Jackson’s eyes as he made this 
remark, and Bill looked at him earnestly, 
as if to fathom its meaning. He then 
turned to the cabin companionway and 
disappeared below. 

Just then Mr. Jackson’s eye was ar- 
rested by a boy up on the mainmast cross- 
trees, and he recognized Jack Perkins. 

“Why, there’s your chief ‘B.M.’,” said 
he to the Chairman, “taking a view of the 
ocean.” 

“Yes,” was the reply, “that’s Jack, and 
he’s having his regular constitutional. It 
is pretty good exercise for a boy who is 
as strong as he is, but I should hate to do 
it myself.” 

The Chairman then explained that Jack 
was in the habit of beginning at the jib 
stay and climbing up to the foremast 
[ 164 ] 


THE KEY OF THE KEELSON 


crosstrees hand over hand, with only the 
slight support he could get from his knees 
and feet. He then would proceed in the 
same manner over to the mainmast cross- 
trees, a distance of twenty-seven feet, 
and finally come down by the main top- 
ping lift to the quarter-deck. 

“That means a pretty good head,” 
said Mr. Jackson, “besides good muscle.” 

Just then Billy reappeared, and with a 
broad grin on his face, addressed the Chair- 
man. 

“I’m mighty sorry to have troubled you, 
sir, about that key. I guess the works 
inside my thinker have run down, sir.” 
Then, turning to Mr. Jackson, “Perhaps 
I’d better wait until after the cruise, 
uncle, and I’ll bring you the keelson in 
my gripsack ! ” 

“He seems to be the right stuff!” re- 
marked the Chairman as Billy walked off. 

Having found out from the Captain the 
exact position and use of the keelson — 
to bind the ship’s timbers to the keel — 
Bill lost no time in spreading the informa- 
[ 165 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


tion among the ship’s company after their 
return on board. He was as much inter- 
ested in sharing a new piece of information 
as he was in acquiring it originally ; and 
before supper was over, the story of his 
investigation and its result had spread 
from quarter-deck to forecastle. 

That evening, after the riding lights 
were up, two choice spirits were cleaning 
the sidelights, and, hoping to squeeze a 
little more fun out of Bill, casually re- 
marked : 

“Look — Brown — hurry up, will you, 
and get me the green oil for the starboard 
light ! ” 

Billy, in his great desire to help, started 
toward the companion way, then hesitated, 
and finally turned back, remarking dryly : 

“I guess, Johnnie, if you want to go 
find it yourself, you’ll find the green oil 
just alongside the red oil, and you’ll find 
them both — I should say — in the same 
locker with the ‘key of the keelson’.” 

Soon after this, the Triangle Club met 
in the jib netting. 

[ 166 ] 


THE KEY OF THE KEELSON 


“What do you think of the new fellow 
— Brown?” asked Dick, 

“If he goes on asking questions at this 
rate,” replied Chippie, “his cocoanut’ll 
bust before long.” 

“Not much,” retorted Tom; “he’ll 
make a good master-at-arms one of these 
days. He’s good stuff!” 


1 167 ] 


CHAPTER XV 

Seasickness 


^HE following morning at quarters, as 
an easterly breeze had sprung up during 
the night, it was announced that the ship 
would sail immediately after “mast”, 
which would be at a quarter of ten. This 
meant another, opportunity for the “B. 
M.’s” to see how well they could handle 
their sections in getting under way; and, 
as soon as “mast” was over. Jack called 
Ellsworth and the two other boatswain’s 
mates together to remind them of the 
details of their jobs. Then he went over 
and talked with Bertie Young, the master- 
at-arms. 

“Look, Bertie,” said he, “don’t let 
any lubbers loiter down below after the 
[ 168 ] 


SEASICKNESS 


call for getting under way has been 
sounded.” 

“Sure, Jack,” said Bertie, “I’ll be on 
the job.” 

Meantime the sky had become overcast, 
and the wind had freshened, and it still 
blew from the northeast as it had done the 
day before. While going over the mast- 
head, the boys noticed quite heavy clouds 
near the horizon. There was also more 
moisture in the air, and everything looked 
as if a northeaster were making up its mind 
to visit the coast. The wind, however, 
was not strong enough to warrant taking 
in any reefs, and the Bright Wing sailed 
briskly away from her anchorage with a 
motion that gradually increased as they 
cleared the harbor. The lee scuppers were 
all under water by this time and no mis- 
take, and the vessel flew like a gull when 
the wind catches its outspread wings and 
carries it along without resistance. The 
tide was running out, also, and they slipped 
off so quickly that an hour later, when the 
boys were looking back at the shore, the 
[ 169 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


familiar spires and headlands had almost 
disappeared in the distance. 

The manoeuvre of getting under way 
had been carried out as smoothly as the 
last time, and now the master-at-arms 
was busy warning the smaller and greener 
boys off the lee rail. 

“The weather’s too cold for a bath this 
morning, you lubbers ; and, besides, the 
Captain doesn’t want to stop her headway 
to pick you up,” cried Bertie. “Gee, 
what a spanking breeze ! ” 

Now and then a boy might be noticed 
lingering at the foot of the foremast stays 
to leeward, looking intently at the water, 
and then coming back with a wistful look 
upon his face. As time went on, these 
little visits seemed to become more fre- 
quent ; and then Mr. Miller and Mr. 
Wentworth were observed by the Chair- 
man tucking boys away in different cor- 
ners of the deck wrapped up in their 
blankets ; and these blanketed bundles of 
boys deposited in the more sheltered nooks 
began to increase until there were half a 
[ 170 ] 


SEASICKNESS 


dozen or more scattered about in different 
places. 

Just then Jones passed along and said 
to one of the boys with a jeer; “Seasick, 
eh! I thought so!” 

“No, sir!” answered Chip, “I was sick, 
but I’m feeling better. Next time she 
goes about, I think I’ll take a hand with 
the rest of them.” 

“Ready about! Hard-a-lee!” rang out 
across the deck. 

Chippie jumped to his feet in an instant. 

“Gee,” muttered he, “but that was a 
short tack,” and ran to report to his 
“B.M.” 

“That’s good. Chippie,” said Ellsworth, 
“you take hold right here,” and in another 
minute the Bright Wing gave a spring and 
was off again on the port tack. 

Harold French and Randall Turner were 
the two “B.M.’s” of the second division, 
and they both began cheering up their 
invalids and pointing to Chippie, who was 
right as a trivet, though his face still looked 
a little paler than usual. 

[ 171 1 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


At mess inspection there were only three 
boys missing; but some of those who had 
begun to feel well as long as they were 
on deck, asked suddenly to be excused 
before the end of dinner, and scrambled 
up the ladder into the fresh air as fast 
as they could. In the meantime Bertie 
Young, the master-at-arms, had given cups 
of broth to the patients who had remained 
on deck, and was urging them to chew 
some pieces of hard tack. 

“Put something into your stomachs, 
boys, and that will make them feel more 
homelike.” 

They were all feeling better by this 
time, and Dick Gray called out,Tifting his 
head from underneath his blanket: 

“Say, fellows, here’s a conundrum for 
you : Which would you rather do, — feel all 
O.K. ashore, or sick as a boiled owl at sea ?” 

“Gee,” growled out a voice from an- 
other gray blanket, “I know what answer 
I’d a’ given to that two hours ago, but it’s 
different now ! So, here goes, fellows,” 
and he jumped to his feet. “I call for 
[ 172 ] 


SEASICKNESS 


three times three cheers for the Bright 
Wing and ‘being sick at sea!’” 

The other two also sprang to their 
feet; and, as the Captain and Mr. Miller 
were coming up on deck, they heard, to 
their surprise, the sounds of the cheering, 
“Rah, Rah, Rah — Rah, Rah, Rah — 
Rah, Rah, Rah — Sea Scouts — Sea Scouts 
— Sea Scouts — Bright Wing, Bright Wing, 
Bright Wing — S-i-c-k a-t S-e-a!” 

A roar of laughter followed from the 
former patients of the hospital ward, and 
it was so contagious that it reached way 
forward to the galley where the mess cooks 
were washing up after dinner. 

“See here, we’re not all through yet,” 
cried Dick, as a new blanketed figure lay 
down. Chippie noticed the pale face of 
Jones. 

“Can I get you anything, Jones?” asked 
Chippie innocently. 

“No,” answered Jones, with b, groan and 
sour face. 

“He doesn’t feel as perky as he did,” 
thought Chippie to himself, with a grin. 

[ 173 I 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 

There was always a “band concert” 
of half an hour after dinner when the ship 
was at sea; and, under the influence of 
the music from the Victrola, the last rem- 
nants of squeamishness disappeared, ex- 
cept in the case of poor old Jones. 

“Pride comes before a fall,” said Dick 
to Chippie; “I guess he’d have done better 
to own up before.” 

Some of the huskies even tried dancing 
up and down on the windward side of the 
deck. The wind also seemed to be back- 
ing round to the westward, and the motion 
of the waves was not quite so lively. 

Mr. Wentworth was OflBcer of the Day; 
and, after the band concert and dance were 
over, the Chairman and Mr. Miller went 
below. Mj. Wilson, the mate, was at the 
wheel giving some of the older boys a 
spell from time to time, and the Captain 
had already gone below to write some 
letters. 

After Turner, French, and Perkins each 
had been at the wheel for about twenty 
minutes, the lookout shouted, “ Light-ho ! ” 
[ 174 ] 


SEASICKNESS 


The mate immediately responded in a 
loud singing voice, “Wh-e-r-e — away?” 

“Three points off the port bow!” came 
the answer from the lookout. 

“Can you make her out?” called the 
mate. 

And the lookout sang back, “ I think it’s 
Whale’s Back Light, sir.” 

Just then the cry, “Messenger!” was 
heard coming up through the cabin com- 
panionway, and Sidney Malloy, who was 
the messenger on duty, came running aft 
to answer the summons. 

“Messenger, sir,” said he, as he sa- 
luted, standing beside the Chairman’s bunk. 

“Oh! Sidney, is that you?” said the 
Chairman, “are there any more sick boys 
on deck?” 

“No, sir,” answered Sidney, “only one; 
but a few of ’em look a little green-like, 
sir.” 

“Who are they?” 

“Well, sir, there’s Dickie Gray and 
Chip Smith — they don’t seem to be quite 
first-rate yet, sir.” 

[ 175 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


“Send Gray down to me,” said the 
Chairman, who then got out of his bunk 
and took his coat down from the bulk- 
head. 

There was a sound of running feet on 
the deck, for the messenger always did 
his errands on the run, and, in another 
minute, Dick was in the cabin. 

“You sent for me, sir.?*” 

“Yes,” said the Chairman, “sit down 
there on the locker a minute. How far 
are we from ‘Whale’s Back’.?*” 

“The lookout has just reported ‘Whale’s 
Back’ in sight, sir.” 

“Really,” said the Chairman, “that is 
very interesting ; because now you can 
tell me how far we are from Portsmouth 
Harbor.” 

“How is that, sir?” asked Dick. 

“Well, if you don’t know, I can tell you 
in a few minutes ; and then you can pass it 
on to some of the other boys. Go and ask 
the yeoman to give you a plumb line and 
half-circle, and then bring it here to me,” 
Dick ran off very much interested and 
[ 176 ] 


SEASICKNESS 


found the yeoman writing a letter on the 
berth deck. 

“Say, Bob,” said Dick, “what’s a half- 
circle and plumb line ? Have you got 
one ? ” 

“Sure,” answered Bob, “what do you 
want it for?” 

“The old man has just sent me down to 
get it. Hurry up there, quick.” 

Bob Brackett, as yeoman of the ship, 
besides being always responsible for carry- 
ing the mail, had charge of the stationery, 
postage stamps, games, and instruction 
material ; and now he dove down into one 
corner of his yeoman’s locker and pulled 
out a board shaped like a half-circle with 
a straight edge or diameter of eight inches. 

“There’s the board,” said he, and tossed 
it on the table; “the plumb line seems to 
have gone adrift.” 

Then, after rummaging a little longer, 
he called out : 

“Here it is,” and handed Dick a leaden 
sinker fastened to a string. 

“Now wait a minute,” said Bob, “and 
[ 177 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


I’ll tack the string on for you. You see 
it’s got to be fastened just in the right 
place, — at the center of the straight edge.” 

He fastened the string down with a 
thumb tack, and then Bob took it and 
ran aft again to the cabin. 

“Have you had anything about angles 
and circles at school. Gray.?” asked the 
Chairman. 

“Yes, sir, but I don’t remember much 
about ’em.” 

“Well, I guess you’ll remember enough 
to understand what I am going to tell 
you.” 

Then he pointed out the degree marks 
that ran along the curved edge of the half 
circular board. 

“Now if you hold the board up with the 
straight edge on top and horizontal, you’ll 
notice that the plumb line falls at right 
angles to the horizontal line and, at the 
edge of the circumference, passes through 
a point marked zero — but you must 
have seen a thing like this before, haven’t 
you? It’s what they call a ‘protractor.’” 

[ 178 1 


SEASICKNESS 


“I’ve seen something like it, I think, 
sir, but I never understood what it was 
for.” 

“Well,” said the Chairman, “you’ll see 
now how easy it is to understand, when 
you put your mind to it ! This point 
marked zero that the plumb line passes 
through when the straight edge is hori- 
zontal, is exactly in the middle of the 
curved edge of the semicircumference. 
Now, from zero along the curve to the end 
of the straight edge, on both sides of zero, 
are ninety little points marking ninety 
degrees, making two halves of a semicircle, 
or in other words, one-half of a whole 
circle of 360 degrees. 

“If you hold the straight edge of the 
board up to your eye and move the further 
end upward from the horizon, while keep- 
ing the center steady, the plumb line 
moves away from zero toward your body, 
and at the same time along the face of 
the semicircle, and registers a certain num- 
ber of degrees from zero. If you imagine 
yourself standing in the middle of a circle, 
[ 179 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


you can also imagine a lighthouse or a 
church steeple at the circumference of the 
circle. This distance to the circumfer- 
ence will be the radius. Then imagine 
that radius held fast at your end, but 
swinging upward and pointing to the sky. 
It will measure ninety degrees when it is 
pointing straight up from where you are 
standing to a point in the heavens directly 
above your head, and forty -five degrees 
when pointing to a place in the sky half- 
way between the horizon and a point 
directly above, and less than forty-five 
degrees when pointing to a place in the 
sky nearer the horizon. The straight edge 
of this board represents the direction of 
the sight line, or radius; and, as you tip 
the end up above the horizon until it 
reaches the top of the tower or steeple 
you are measuring, the same number of 
degrees will be registered by the plumb line 
at the bottom of the board, counting from 
zero, as the line appears to move toward 
yourself. Now, if you are holding your 
board with your right hand, just put the 
[ 180 ] 


SEASICKNESS 


finger of your left hand on the plumb line 
to keep it in place while you look to see 
what it registers, — this way,” and the 
Chairman went through the motion with 
his hands. 

“Thank you, sir,” said Dick, “I under- 
stand that very well, but I don’t see how it 
gives the distance to the lighthouse.” 

“No,” replied the Chairman, “of course 
not, and that is just where the most inter- 
esting part of the operation comes in. I 
have shown you how to measure the height 
of your lighthouse in degrees along the 
edge of a circumference ; and now we must 
find out how to measure the distance of 
the lighthouse, or the radius of the circle, 
from the center where we are standing, 
to the point in the circumference where the 
lighthouse stands.” 

Dick looked up with interest and said, 
“I don’t see, sir, how that can be done, 
because we want the distance in miles 
or yards, and there is nothing to show 
us the number of miles or yards in a 
degree.” 


( 181 1 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


“That’s true,” said the Chairman, “but 
happily for us, some old fellow a long time 
ago had a bright idea. He knew that, in 
every circle, the length of the radius is 
always in the same proportion to the length 
of the circumference, and so he laid out a 
line equal in length to the radius along the 
circumference, and found that it was equal 
to a little more than 57 degrees. Sup- 
posing, then, that you found your light- 
house to be four degrees above the horizon, 
you could then calculate what fraction of 
the length of the radius the height of your 
tower is by finding the number of times 
that four is contained in 57. Let me see, 
— that would be about 14|-, wouldn’t it?” 

“I guess so, sir,” said Dick. 

“Now,” continued the Chairman, “if 
your lighthouse is 300 feet high, this 300 
feet will be the same part of the distance as 
4 degrees is of 57 degrees. But 4 goes 
into 57, 14|^ times; therefore, the length 
of the distance will be 300 feet X 14|-, 
which is 4,275 feet, or about four-fifths of a 
mile.” 


[ 182 ] 


SEASICKNESS 


“Oh, I see,” cried Dick, “but how do 
we find out the height of the lighthouse?” 

“That’s a good question,” said the 
Chairman; “we can’t find the distance 
unless the height is given, and for that 
reason the heights of lighthouses and other 
conspicuous objects are usually given on 
the charts. But, if we knew our distance 
from the lighthouse, we could easily find 
its height by similar reasoning.” 

Just then the Captain, who had been 
writing at the cabin table, looked up and 
said: “I’ll show you the chart. Gray — 
I don’t just remember the height of 
‘Whale’s Back’,” and he reached out for 
the chart of Portsmouth Harbor, which 
was rolled up in its place on the cabin 
bulkhead. When he had unrolled it he 
showed Dick the figures. 

“Thank you, sir,” said Dick. “Mr. 
Chairman, is there any time when you’d 
like me to report about this?” 

“Come and speak to me, right after 
‘colors’,” replied the Chairman. 

Dick saluted and climbed up on deck 
[ 183 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


as quickly as he could. He felt a kind of 
new opening in his brain, and was keen 
on making his observation and calculation 
as soon as possible. Every trace of sea- 
sickness had vanished. 


[ 184 1 


CHAPTER XVI 
The Commandant’s Inspection 
E next morning Billy Brown went 



through “washing clothes” and 
“scrubbing decks”, “colors”, “bright 
work”, “quarters”, and “mast” with his 
eyes and ears wide open; and, all the 
time, he was looking out for an oppor- 
tunity to practice the exercise which his 
“B,M.” had given him as medicine for his 
“softness.” During morning instruction 
he had “knots and splices” for one period, 
“boxing the compass” for another, and 
“ship’s tackle” with the mate for the third. 
He came out very well with the first two, 
but was of course quite ignorant when it 
came to ship’s tackle. As was always 
the case, however, the more ignorant he 


[ 185 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


was, the more anxious he seemed to learn, 
and quite a shower of questions fell about 
the ears of the mate before the instruction 
period was over. 

While drill was going on among the boys, 
the Captain and the Chairman were mak- 
ing a regular inspection below to prepare 
for the visit of the Commandant of the 
Portsmouth Navy Yard, who was ex- 
pected on board at 11:30 to inspect the 
ship and crew. 

Several boys’ lockers were found in dis- 
order and reported to their respective 
“B.M.’s.” But the Chairman was de- 
lighted with the excellent condition of the 
galley and the forecastle. 

“Ketchy”, the cook’s assistant, also 
served as cabin boy on board, and he was 
particularly careful that morning to see 
that the officers’ quarters were as well up 
to the mark, at least, as any other part of 
the vessel. 

At half-past ten Mr. Miller left in the 
launch to call for the Commandant at the 
Navy Yard ; and Dick Gray, who was one 
[ 186 ] 


THE COMMANDANT’S INSPECTION 


of the regular watch, was detailed to keep 
a sharp lookout for the return of the launch 
and report it at once to Mr. Wentworth, 
who was Officer of the Day. 

All the boys were in their “whites” in 
honor of the impending visit; and they 
were just about finishing the third instruc- 
tion period when Dick noticed the launch, 
flying the “Jack” in her bow, turn the 
corner of the fort at the entrance of Little 
Harbor. He immediately reported to Mr. 
Wentworth, and the “B.M.” on watch 
blew his call and sounded “Retreat from 
drill.” 

“Side boys — stand by!” was the next 
command, and two “B.M.’s” with their 
respective quartermasters took their po- 
sitions at the starboard side-ladder. Mean- 
time the rest of the crew was ordered to its 
regular stations as at “quarters”, and only 
the watch were left to lend a hand as the 
launch drew up to the side. 

The Commandant was rather a stout 
officer with a pleasant look. A good- 
humored smile lit up his face as he stepped 
[ 187 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


on deck between the side boys standing at 
salute and noticed the trill of the boat- 
swain’s call. His hand was first raised to 
acknowledge the salute, and he then shook 
hands with the Captain and the Chairman 
who were waiting to receive him. 

They introduced Mr. Jackson as their 
guest, and all three walked aft to the 
quarter-deck and sat down under the 
awning. 

The boys were then ordered to “stand at 
ease” until after the inspection of the ship, 
and their visitor inspected her carefully 
from stem to stern, looking into every 
corner, and asking to have the lid removed 
from everything that was covered up. 

While they were in the galley he exam- 
ined carefully the back of the range to see 
whether there was any danger from fire; 
and then, pointing to a ring in the deck 
beneath their feet, “What’s that?” asked 
he. 

“A coal bunker,” answered the Captain; 
and, lifting the corner, which was a little 
stiff, he showed the place between the 
[ 188 ] 


THE COMMANDANT’S INSPECTION 


deck and the timbers below where the range 
coal was kept. 

The Commandant then asked questions 
about the storage of gasoline for the launch 
and where the kerosene for the lamps was 
kept. It was explained to him that the 
only supply of gasoline was kept in the 
bow of the launch itself, and that the kero- 
sene was lashed inside of a crate out on 
deck. He examined the boatswain’s 
lockers with a good deal of interest and ex- 
pressed himself as satisfied with the result. 

When they came back to the deck, the 
boys were drawn up at “Attention” and 
he walked up and down the lines delib- 
erately and carefully, taking in all there 
was to be seen. 

Then, turning to one of the oflficers, he 
said: “How long does it take you to get 
one of the boats into the water fully 
manned.'^” 

“Would you like to see them try it, sir?” 
asked the Chairman. 

As the Commandant assented, the Cap- 
tain spoke to Jack Perkins. 

[ 189 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


As usual, when lying at anchor, all the 
boats were in the water, swinging from the 
boat booms, whereas the Commandant’s 
question evidently referred to lowering a 
boat from its davits into the water; so 
that the long boat — which was the cut- 
ter belonging to Jack Perkins’s section — 
first had to be hauled up on the davits and 
made secure in the position it occupied 
when the ship was at sea. Then Mr. 
Wentworth took out his watch while Jack 
Perkins gave the command : 

“First division, first section, attention! 
Stand by to lower the long boat!” 

The boys jumped to their places at the 
davits, while Chippie Smith, the coxswain, 
climbed into the boat at once and began 
shipping the rudder. Tom had hold of 
the painter as the boat dipped into the 
water with Chippie in the stern. Five of 
the section then climbed over the side, and 
finally Tom — the last one — took his 
seat in the bow with the painter in his 
hand. He quickly .seized the boat hook; 
and, in answer to Chippie’s “shove off”^ 
[ 190 ] 


THE COMMANDANT’S INSPECTION 


the boat swung away from the ship and 
the oars dropped into their rowlocks. 

“That was pretty good,” said the Com- 
mandant; “how long did it take, Mr. 
Scout Master.?” 

“Just one minute and twelve seconds,” 
replied Mr. Wentworth. 

“Well,” continued the Commandant, 
“lowering a boat properly is no joke, — 
your boys have the right idea. Captain; 
but I should say they needed a little prac- 
tice. It’s a nice little bit of team work, 
and I suppose you have a competition be- 
tween your three boats’ crews occasionally. 
Now, Mr. Chairman,” he went on, “may 
I have the pleasure of saying a word to the 
boys before I leave?” 

The crew was then ordered into its ac- 
customed position at “mast”, facing aft, 
while the Commandant stood on the quar- 
ter-deck with the other officers beside him. 

“I am glad to have seen you and your 
ship, boys, and to have had the pleasure 
of talking to your officers. 

“I have examined the ship as thor- 
[ 191 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


oughly as I could, in the short time at my 
disposal, and I find her A-1 for cleanliness 
and order. There is nothing so clean as 
a clean sailor in a clean vessel, and there 
is nothing so filthy as a dirty one. 

“I don’t know whether all of you boys 
appreciate your surroundings on board 
this vessel, both as regards the ship and 
your oflBcers; but, if you knew as much 
as I do about the life of seamen, I am sure 
you would be grateful for the opportunities 
you are enjoying, and I have no doubt 
you are. 

“But don’t make the mistake of accept- 
ing all this without feeling the necessity 
for making a just return; and this you 
can do best by attending to your work as 
thoroughly as possible, and preparing your- 
selves to serve your country. 

“I don’t mean only in a military way, 
for that is but one of many kinds of service 
needed; but, if you follow the lines given 
in your scout law, you cannot fail to be 
useful wherever you are.” 

After a few more words with the Chair- 
[ 192 ] 


THE COMMANDANT’S INSPECTION 


man, the Commandant, accompanied by 
Mr. Miller, entered the launch and waved 
a good-by to the Bright Wing and its crew. 

All stood at attention until the launch 
had shoved off. They were then dis- 
missed and went below for dinner. 


[ 19S ] 


CHAPTER XVII 
Stoem-bound at Pkovincetown 



entrance to Little Harbor at Ports- 


mouth, between Great Island and the 
breakwater, was so narrow that it would 
have been impossible to get out to sea 
against the tide unless a westerly wind 
had been blowing. As it was, the wind 
was light and easterly, so that the Bright 
Wing was obliged to adapt herself to the 
tide, which began to run out as early as 
three in the morning. At four o’clock, 
therefore, all hands were called to the 
windlass, and, as soon as she was free, the 
ship slipped out past the breakwater and 
the fort, toward the rising sun, with her 
sails slightly shaking in the breeze. 

The course was about south by east as 


[ 194 ] 


STORM-BOUND AT PROVINCETOWN 

far as Thatcher’s Island; and, from there, 
about south-half-east for Race Point on 
the tip end of the Cape, — the whole dis- 
tance being roughly seventy miles. So 
long as the wind held easterly, or at least 
did not veer around in a southerly direction, 
it would be possible for them to sail the first 
thirty miles or so on one long leg, fairly close 
hauled; but, from Thatcher’s Island on, 
they would be able to slack off their sheets. 

The plan of the cruise included a short 
stay at Provincetown, to give Mr. Jackson 
a chance to get ashore, and from there 
around the Cape to Martha’s Vineyard; 
then through the Cape Cod Canal to home 
waters at Hull. 

As the Bright Wing slipped along through 
the water at a moderate speed, every- 
thing on board was going like clockwork. 
There was no seasickness to interfere with 
the routine instruction, and the light easterly 
breeze made it cool and pleasant, although 
it was very hot ashore. At quarters it was 
announced that Randall Turner, “B.M.” 
of the second division, first section, had 
I 195 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


left the ship at Portsmouth the night be- 
fore, in response to a telegram announcing 
his mother’s serious illness, and that Ron- 
ald Jones, the coxswain of the same sec- 
tion, had been appointed “B.M.” in Tur- 
ner’s place. At dinner time they were just 
about opposite the twin lights on Thatch- 
er’s Island ; and, when the new watch 
came on deck after dinner, they noticed 
that the wind had shifted to the north of 
east, and that the sky was beginning to 
be overcast. The breeze, also, was fresh- 
ening, and, as the sheets were let out to 
catch more of the wind, the Bright Wing 
began running rather faster, with the 
breeze on her port quarter. The mate 
and Mr. Wentworth were walking up and 
down, sniffing the air. 

“Guess we’ll make Provincetown in short 
order, if this wind holds,” said the mate; 
then, looking up at the clouds, he added, 
“I shouldn’t wonder if it thickened a little 
before to-morrow morning, and I notice 
the glass has gone down since we left 
Portsmouth.” 


[ 196 ] 


STORM-BOUND AT PROVINCETOWN 


This was the first time some of the 
younger boys had sailed in a strong fair 
wind. The motion, of course, seemed far 
less than if they had been obliged to beat 
up against it, and there was little or no 
discomfort, in spite of the fact that the 
wind was gradually increasing and the 
weather thickening. 

At about four o’cloek in the afternoon, 
it began to rain, and all hands on deck 
got into their oilskins and rubber boots. 
Fortunately, however, there was no fog, 
and Cape Race light soon loomed up clearly 
across the port bow. Once passed, it 
became necessary to beat to the northward 
against the wind, so that they did not drop 
anchor in Provincetown Harbor until after 
dark. 

In the meantime the weather had de- 
veloped into a storm, and the Bright Wing, 
along with a number of fishing schooners 
that were moored in the harbor, dropped 
extra anehors as a matter of precaution. 

It was not possible to send the launch 
ashore that night for the mail, and it 
[ 197 1 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


seemed a strange thing to the younger boys 
to feel the motion of the ship, and to hear 
the sound of the wind blowing through 
the rigging, while at the same time they 
knew that they were at anchor. 

Dick Gray had been getting more and 
more into his work since the crisis he had 
passed through some days before. He 
felt as if he had thrown off a great load 
that used to weigh him down while he was 
working, and had taken more than half 
the fun out of his play. He had a new 
sense of freedom which he had never felt 
before ; and, at the same time, a tre- 
mendous desire to make good in whatever 
he was called upon to do. Dick “Number 
1” was not only in command, but using 
all his force and intelligence to make a 
good and obedient servant of Dick “Num- 
ber 2.” He began to feel a new sense of 
enjoyment in his life which he, himself, 
did not quite understand; but the truth 
was very simple : he was becoming a man, 
and learning to appreciate a man’s re- 
sponsibilities. 


[ 198 ] 


STORM-BOUND AT PROVINCETOWN 


Ronald Jones, the new who had 

succeeded Turner, was a boy who had 
got ahead in his tests for ratings and merit 
badges rather by book learning than from 
actual experience. Of course all the senior 
officers as well as the “B.M.’s” were in- 
terested to see whether he had in him the 
right stuff for a petty officer; and Mr. 
Wentworth, as Officer of the Day, watched 
with even greater care than usual to see 
whether Jones gave his commands on time, 
and also whether they were properly car- 
ried out. The boy, of course, did not real- 
ize how carefully he was being observed, 
and seemed rather pleased with himself 
than otherwise, until Mr. Wentworth asked 
him why the order for the first instruction 
period of the afternoon was three minutes 
late. Jones mumbled out an excuse of 
some sort ; but, as a matter of fact, it had 
really never occurred to him that three 
minutes would make any difference one 
way or the other. 

“You remember, Jones, I explained to 
you when I gave you your watch billet 
[ 199 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


that every routine order must be given and 
carried out on the dot by the deck clock. 
If you have not remembered to give the 
order within sixty seconds of the right time, 
you are clearly at fault, and no excuse will 
be accepted. Until you have had some 
practice, you will not find this an easy 
thing to do, and it may be that you will 
never be able to accomplish it. All men 
cannot be officers, for they haven’t got it 
in them, and yet they may be very good 
privates. It is the same with boys, and 
now you have your chance of proving 
whether you can make good or whether 
you can’t.” 

Jones might have understood from Mr. 
Wentworth’s serious tone that there was 
need for mending his ways ; but he seemed 
to take his new authority more as a feather 
in his cap than as a serious responsibility. 
This was not the first time he had been 
“called down” since noon, when he and 
his section had been put in charge of the 
watch. His “life buoy” (whose duty it is 
to stand on the leeward side, prepared to 
[ 200 ] 


STORM-BOUND AT PROVINCETOWN 


throw the buoy at any moment) was 
lolling most of the time on the cabin 
house instead of being alert on his two 
feet. There were four or five more rou- 
tine orders on Jones’s watch bill to be 
given before he was relieved at four o’clock ; 
and, of those, only two were punctually 
and properly carried out. 

At the officers’ conference that evening, 
Mr. Wentworth reported, among other 
things, on Jones’s first watch that after- 
noon, and it was decided to give him an- 
other forty-eight hours to see whether he 
could make good as a petty officer. 

The next morning Mr. Jackson, who was 
anxious to take the train to Boston, found 
to his surprise that it was impossible to 
get ashore, for the storm had risen to un- 
usual violence. The Captain and the mate 
kept a close watch on the anchor cables, 
for they feared the anchors might drag at 
any moment. On account of the rain, 
quarters, setting up exercises, and instruc- 
tion were all held on the berth deck; but 
toward noon there came a break in the 
[ 201 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT-SEA 

clouds, and, with the first gleams of sun- 
nhine, the wind began to abate. 

It was not until after dinner, however, 
that the launch was sent ashore with Mr. 
Jackson, the yeoman, and Billy Brown, 
who accompanied his uncle to the train ; 
and, as soon as they had landed, the yeo- 
man started for the post ofiice, while Mr. 
Jackson and Billy walked to the railway 
station. 

“Say, uncle,” said Billy, “seems a long 
time since you and I came aboard at 
Portsmouth, doesn’t it? You can tell the 
folks I’m having the time of my life ; 
but just find out, will you, whether Roger 
has remembered the calf.” 

Mr. Jackson promised. Bill watched 
the train roll out of the station, and then 
found his way back to the wharf where 
Bob Brackett was waiting for him, and 
they both returned to the ship just in time 
for the afternoon swim. 

The weather had cleared by three o’clock, 
the sun was shining brightly, and all to- 
gether the conditions were just right for 
[ 202 ] 


STORM-BOUND AT PROVINCETOWN 


a good dip, although there was more motion 
in the water than usual, even inside the 
harbor. Jack Perkins was in charge of 
the swimming party, and was particularly 
interested in teaching Billy Brown, who 
seemed to have great difficulty in getting 
over a natural aversion for the water. 
Brown knew the stroke well enough, but 
would tighten up from lack of confidence, 
and Jack was trying hard to teach him to 
swim in a quiet and leisurely way instead 
of working in spasms. 

They were all swimming off the ship’s 
side to leeward, as the Captain and mate 
were preparing to row ashore, and Jack 
suddenly remembered a letter which he 
had forgotten to give to the yeoman to 
mail. 

“Captain,” he called from the water, 
“are you going near the post office.?” 
and, as the Captain nodded, he said, “I 
forgot to give the yeoman a letter I wrote 
home, — would you mind mailing it for 
me, sir.?” 

At the Captain’s cordial assent, Jack 
[ 203 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


scrambled up the side-ladder and disap- 
peared down the berth deck companion- 
way. 

Meantime, Brown had been swimming 
pretty well — for him — and struck out 
from the ship’s side, followed by Chippie 
Smith, who knew Billy’s peculiarities as a 
swimmer and was keeping a friendly eye 
on him. But the tide happened to be 
bearing away from the vessel, and sud- 
denly Chippie noticed that Billy was sput- 
tering and struggling ahead of him in a 
kind of panic. 

“It’s all right. Bill — take your time 
and swim back here to me,” called out 
Smith in a reassuring tone. 

Little Billy felt the force of the current 
against him, and finally scrambled through 
about six feet of water to where Smith 
was; but, having completely lost his pres- 
ence of mind, frantically grabbed him 
round the neck from behind and began 
weighing him down into the water. One 
of the boys near the ship noticed what 
was going on and gave a loud call for help 
( 204 ] 


STORM-BOUND AT PROVINCETOWN 


which reached Dick’s ears while he was 
writing a letter home on the day bunk. 
He had no sooner heard the cry than he 
bounded to the ship’s side and took in the 
situation at a glance. Without thinking 
of the side-ladder, he dove off the rail, 
clothes and all, and came up again about 
four feet from where the two boys were 
struggling. Approaching close to Chippie, 
he said quietly ; 

“Knock the back of your head against 
his nose. Chip; that will break his hold, 
and then I’ll pick him up.” 

Smith had been careful to keep his 
mouth closed while his head was under 
water, and took in a deep breath whenever 
he could manage to wriggle to the surface. 
Now Dick’s voice gave him just the sup- 
port he needed, and he quietly bumped 
against Billy’s face with the back of his 
head. He purposely did not do it hard 
the first time; but the second time he 
knocked just hard enough, and Bill re- 
laxed his grasp. Dick then turned over 
on his back; and, catching Billy under 
[ 205 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 

the arms, quietly swam back to the side 
of the ship. 

It did not take long to lift Billy to the 
deck, and it was found that he was really 
more frightened than anything else. The 
Chairman, the Captain, and almost the 
whole ship’s company had formed a ring 
around him as he lay there on his back. 
Mr. Miller knelt beside him for a few min- 
utes ; and, when he had reported his pulse 
fairly good and their anxiety had been 
allayed, one of the boys cried out: “Look 
at Dick Gray !” and burst out laughing. ; 

All eyes followed those of the laughing 
boy, and the merriment became general 
and hearty as Dick — dripping from head 
to foot — gazed with an earnest look upon 
the little figure lying on the deck, his foun- 
tain pen sticking up at a sharp angle from 
his mouth, in the same position it had occu- 
pied when he first started from his writing 
on the day bunk and jumped off the rail 
into the water ! 

“ What’s the matter with me ? ” he blurted 
out. 

[ 206 ] 


STORM-BOUND AT PROVINCETOWN 


“Don’t talk with your mouth full!” 
shouted Chippie, and only then did Dick 
become conscious of his pen. 

“How about your letter, Gray?” asked 
the Chairman, with a twinkle in his eye. 

“ I guess I’d better change my clothes be- 
fore I finish it, sir,” said Dick, with a grin. 

Meantime Billy Brown had got up on 
to his feet, and was ordered to report to 
the Chairman as soon as he had changed 
his clothes. 


[ 207 ] 


CHAPTER XVIII 

A Clearing Sky and a Fresh Start 

AT prayers that night, the talk turned 
naturally enough on Law Number 
10, — “A Scout is Brave.” 

“There are very few men,” said the 
Chairman, “and perhaps fewer boys, who 
do not suffer from fear of some sort at one 
time or another. If they let the fear get 
the best of them without making any 
effort to overcome it, they become cowards, 
and their weakness goes on increasing and 
tends to weaken them in everything they 
undertake to do. A thoroughgoing coward 
is the most untrustworthy kind of man 
possible; and, at the same time, the most 
to be pitied, for he has no refuge from his 
fear, and must continue to suffer till he 
[ 208 ] 


A CLEARING SKY AND A FRESH START 


has faced and overcome it. It does not 
matter what we are afraid of, so long as 
we give in to fear ; and, if one terror is re- 
moved from the outside, another is likely 
to take its place at any time. I want you 
boys to understand this : that nothing in 
the world is more frightful than to be under 
the control of selfish fear; and, when we 
have the habit of controlling our fear, 
nothing in the world is unendurable, and 
nothing in the world need be terrifying. 

“Some people are born with certain 
special kinds of fear, like the fear of water 
or of fire, and such things are no more 
their fault than the color of their eyes or 
hair ; but it is very decidedly their fault if 
they do not work and learn to overcome 
them. It is the greatest mistake to imagine 
that they cannot be controlled and en- 
tirely conquered. I have had a good 
talk with Brown this evening, and he un- 
derstands that the panic he was in while 
swimming was in itself a contemptible 
thing, but he does not propose to let it 
control him. Panic, or uncontrolled fear, 
[ 209 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


is very selfish; and, in this case. Brown 
sees that he might have drowned Smith 
as well as himself if his hold hadn’t been 
broken. He understands that his own 
life would not be worth saving if this weak- 
ness should continue to master him, and 
of course he will make it his particular 
business to get the best of it. 

“Lots of boys have been through hard 
fights with themselves about such matters, 
and there is not one of us here to-night 
who has not some weak spot over which 
he must keep a careful watch for the sake 
of his honor, — his obligation to duty and 
to God.” 

“Please, sir,” said a small voice from the 
back row, “the first time I went over the 
masthead, I was so scared I thought I 
never should get down again; but the 
next time it went better, and the next 
time after that I didn’t mind it at all.” 

The Chairman recognized in the speaker 
one of the younger scouts; and, before he 
could make any reply. Brown piped up 
from the other side of the deck : 

[ 210 ] 


A CLEARING SKY AND A FRESH START 


“That’s the same as me, sir, only Dick 
Gray, he helped me over the worst of it. 
Now I had just as lief go over as eat my din- 
ner.” 

“That’s well,” replied the Chairman. 
“What you’ve got to do from now on is to 
learn to like the water — and the deep 
water — as much as you like going over the 
masthead.” 

The weather was somewhat uncertain 
when they turned into their bunks that 
night, and, at about half-past one the 
next morning, Mr. Miller climbed up on 
deck very quietly, to find out what the 
prospects were for sailing around the Cape. 
The wind seemed to have veered to the 
northwest and blew cool in his face as he 
looked up to the sky. There appeared to 
be no clouds in any direction, and the 
stars were shining brightly wherever the 
sky could be seen. He did not see the 
anchor watch at first, although the rough 
log was in its place near the binnacle 
light on the cabin house. He walked for- 
ward, thinking that the watch might be for 
[ 211 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


the moment in the jib netting; but, as 
he turned around to come aft again, he 
noticed the small figure of a boy in a 
watch cap coming down the fore rigging. 
He recognized Dick Gray as the latter 
stepped on to the deck and saluted. 

“ What were you doing up aloft, Dick ? ” 
asked Mr. Miller. 

“Looking at the stars, sir. You can’t 
see them so well from the deck, on account 
of the spars and rigging.” 

“ Have you got the log all written up ? ” 

“Yes, sir,” replied Dick, “and she’s 
heading just about north, the same direc- 
tion that I was looking.” 

“What were you trying to make out?” 
They spoke with subdued voices so as not 
to disturb the sleepers. 

“Well, sir, I was trying to make out the 
great wheel turning around the Pole-star; 
that is, I was trying to see it turn, but the 
water’s so unsteady that it’s hard work 
telling whether you can see it turn or not.” 

Now Mr. Miller was very much inter- 
ested in the stars, and was fond of coming 
[ 212 ] 


A CLEARING SKY AND A FRESH START 


up on deck at night to take a look at the 
heavens now and then, and so the ques- 
tion Dick had raised was one that inter- 
ested him quite as much as it did Dick. 

After he had thought for a few minutes 
he finally said : 

“It is a difficult thing to observe unless 
you have some fixed and conspicuous ob- 
ject in the landscape to watch the turn- 
ing stars go past. If we could stay here 
all night, though, or even for three or four 
hours, we would easily notice the change 
in their positions. But our night watches 
aren’t arranged for the study of astronomy ; 
it’s too bad, isn’t it.?” 

“I was thinking, sir, if I could make a 
little rough chart of the principal northern 
stars as they are now, it might be inter- 
esting to compare their positions with the 
way they look in the early evening.” 

“That’s a good idea,” said Mr. Miller 
cordially, “have you anything to draw a 
circle with?” 

“No, I haven’t up here, sir.” 

“Well, here’s a fifty -cent piece, and you go 
[ 213 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 

aft and make your chart while I keep my eyes 
and ears open toward the water for you.” 

“Thank you, sir,” said Dick, and ran 
aft with the fifty-cent piece. First he 
drew the circle and then made two lines 
crossing each other through the center at 
right angles. The whole circle represented 
the course of the stars in twenty-four hours, 
and each quarter, of course, would repre- 
sent six hours. He made just a dot for the 
North Star, close to the center, and then 
placed the Great Dipper, with its pointers, 
in the right position at one extremity of the 
circle, and “Cassiopeia”, in the shape of a 
“W”, nearly opposite to it, on the other 
side, in this way : 



A CLEARING SKY AND A FRESH START 


“Now,” thought he, “if I get a chance 
to-night before prayers. I’ll make another 
sketch then. That’ll be about eighteen 
or nineteen hours from now, and they 
ought to have turned about three-quarters 
of the way round the circle by that time.” 
He then took a look at his watch, and 
found he had three minutes to wait be- 
fore ringing four bells at two o’clock; so 
he returned the silver coin to Mr. Miller and 
took his station near the bell, watch in hand. 

Meantime Mr. Miller went below, and 
Dick slipped down the berth deck ladder 
to call his successor, who happened to be 
Tom Sheffield. They came on deck to- 
gether and Tom rubbed his eyes sleepily. 

“See,” said Dick, as he turned to go down 
the ladder to his bunk, “if you want to 
look at something nice, when you’ve got 
through with the log, just crawl up the fore- 
rigging to the crosstrees and look around. 
So long !” 

Next morning the wind was blowing 
moderately from the northwest, the sky 
was bright and clear, but there was quite 
[ 215 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 

a heavy sea rolling from the effeets of the 
storm. Everything was favorable to an 
early start, and the weather was especially 
good for getting around the Cape, for no 
seamen like to pass anywhere near Pol- 
lock Rip and the other rocks on the eastern 
side in thick or foggy weather. After 
they were out of the harbor, and had passed 
Long Point Light, they beat up against 
the wind for a couple of hours till they 
got about three miles outside of Race 
Point, where the sheets were slackened and 
the ship ran free. It was not altogether 
a comfortable motion for the green hands ; 
for, as they were running with the wind, 
they did not feel the breeze in their faces, 
and a fresh breeze in your face is a great 
thing for seasickness ; but the air, such as 
it was, was cool and clear, and the ship 
was all alive with the rolling motion of 
the waves. The wind held in about the 
same direction pretty much all day; and, 
having made a particularly early start, by 
four o’clock in the afternoon they were 
oflf the southeast corner of the Cape. 

[ 216 ] 


A CLEARING SKY AND A FRESH START 


They had set sail at four o’clock that 
morning, and Clarence Ellsworth was on 
watch with his section until after breakfast. 
From eight o’clock till noon, Ronald Jones 
— the new “B.M.” — came on ; but, much 
to Mr. Miller’s disappointment, he did not 
seem to be doing any better, so that even 
his messenger was tardy with the ship’s bell. 

The westerly wind seemed to put a keen 
edge on all the appetites aboard, and at 
dinner the conversation was quite as lively 
as the knives and forks. 

Jones’s section sat at the end of the table 
opposite the Chief “B.M.” and, during a 
comparative lull in the general noise and 
clatter, Jones’s voice was heard saying, in 
a domineering tone : 

“Didn’t you hear what I told you.?* I 
told you to eat up that piece of fish, — the 
whole of it.” 

The general attention was arrested by 
the sound of this unusual command, and 
another boy’s voice was heard to answer: 

“It’s a second help, Ronald, and I got 
too much; I can’t help that.” 

[ 217 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


Jones’s voice grew more angry, and he 
did not seem to realize that the whole 
company were listening to his remarks. 

“I don’t care whether it’s your second 
help or your twenty-second. You do what 
I say, or I’ll put you on report!” 

There was no answer to this remark 
excepting the fact that the order was not 
obeyed, as the signal was given to leave 
the table before the remaining quantity 
of fish could be consumed; and, in ac- 
cordance with his threat, Jones reported 
the matter to Jack Perkins — as Chief 
“B.M.” — immediately after dinner. 

“It’s too bad,” said Mr. Wentworth, 
when Jack brought the matter to him. 
“I’m afraid that’s another bad mark 
against Jones. He’s too slack with his orders 
about work, and he’s over-keen about 
trifles and his personal authority. It takes 
more common sense than that to make a 
good petty officer.” 

During the afternoon they passed Chat- 
ham on their starboard side, and hauled 
in the sheets off Monomoy Island to make 
[ 218 ] 


A CLEARING SKY AND A FRESH START 

the passage through Pollock Rip Slue and 
then past Shovelful and Handkerchief light- 
ships. Just as they were finally heading 
directly for Vineyard Haven, the lookout 
cried: “Ship ahoy!” 

“Where away?” called the voice of the 
Captain, who was at the wheel. 

“Straight ahead, sir,” was the answer 
of the lookout. 

“Can you make her out?” 

“Seems like a rowboat full of people!” 
was the answer. 

The Captain called the mate to the 
wheel and sent the messenger for his glasses, 
then he went forward himself and made 
a careful examination of the little dot on 
the water to which the lookout had called 
his attention. The glass revealed the fact 
that there was a small mast in the boat, 
although she carried no sail, at which a 
flag was flying upside down, evidently as 
a signal of distress. Meantime the Chair- 
man and Mr. Miller had come up and 
joined the Captain in the bow, and it was 
decided to keep the vessel right on her 
[ 219 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 

course until they reached the boat ahead 
of them. 

“They must have had to abandon their 
ship somewhere outside,” remarked the 
Chairman, “and, when the wind changed 
after the storm, they had to row against 
it to make for shore.” 

“Yes,” answered the Captain, who still 
had the glasses up to his eyes. “I caught 
a glimpse of an oar just then, in the sun- 
light, but they can’t have more than two, 
and it’s a long pull they have ahead of 
them in a rough sea, with a load like that.” 

“I suppose they are making for Nan- 
tucket, but that must be fourteen miles 
off, and they couldn’t possibly get there 
before nightfall.” 

So they talked back and forth until 
gradually they began to make out more 
and more distinctly the details in and 
about the boat and its crew. 

Chippie was standing near by as the 
conversation between the Chairman and 
the Captain took place. He immediately 
ran off to find Tom and Dick and tell 
[ 220 ] 


A CLEARING SKY AND A FRESH START 

them the news, which spread like wildfire 
all over the ship ; and it was as much as the 
boys on watch could do to attend to their 
regular duties without stopping frequently 
to peer at the little boat in the distance 
ahead of them. 


[ 221 ] 


CHAPTER XIX 
A Rescue 


^HE sea was still rough from the after 
effects of the storm, and, although 
the waves had somewhat subsided, yet 
they were high enough to tumble over 
one another — forming white-caps and 
streamers of spray when caught by the 
wind. All hands on board who had no 


definite posts of duty had their eyes fixed 
upon the boat ahead, and the boys were 
taking turns in looking through a marine 
glass which they had borrowed from the 
Chairman. The lifeboat must have been 
about five miles off when first sighted by 
the lookout, and it was not long before they 
could distinguish, by help of the glasses, 
a number of people in the boat. There 


A RESCUE 


seemed to be eight or ten men, and the 
boat appeared to be about twenty feet 
long. In the stern was a pile of what 
looked like bundles or sacks with some 
one lying down and partly supported by 
them. The light was still good, and the 
declining sun shed its rays full upon the 
object of their attention. When they had 
come within about a mile of the boat, they 
observed that it was an old man, probably 
weak or ill from exhaustion, who lay in the 
stern. 

She was shipping some water forward, 
although not very much, and one of the 
men was busy bailing her out a little aft 
of amidships. 

“Maybe she’s leaking a little,” suggested 
the mate. “These lifeboats often get 
shrunken seams from not being in the 
water for a long time. But it wouldn’t 
take more than twenty-four hours in the 
water to swell her up tight ; and, if that’s 
why she’s leaking, they can’t have been 
away from their ship more than a day and 
a night.” 

[ m ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


“Maybe it’s only the surface spray that’s 
filled her up,” answered the Captain. 

The men in the boat were rowing against 
the wind ; and, as they evidently had 
only one pair of oars on board, they were 
making very slow headway. As the Bright 
Wing approached, they slackened their 
efforts and, putting both oars on the lee- 
ward side, merely kept the boat’s head up 
into the wind. The Captain meantime 
had been making up his mind how best to 
approach them, and decided to give the 
Bright Wing a good “full” to starboard 
and then to luff up and shoot into the 
wind so that the lifeboat would be to lee- 
ward of the Bright Wing on the starboard 
side. He timed his little manoeuvre with 
great skill so that the ship’s headway, 
counteracted by the wind as she shot up 
with her sails shaking, was just enough to 
bring her to a standstill at about ten yards 
to windward of the boat. 

“Boat ahoy!” called out the Captain. 
“Can you row up alongside?” 

The oars were immediately adjusted and 
[ 224 ] 


A RESCUE 


dipped into the water ; and, in a few 
strokes, the boat had come up to within 
ten feet. 

The sea had still enough motion to make 
it a somewhat delicate matter to handle 
the boat so that there would be no bump- 
ing or unnecessary jar in getting the people 
aboard. The mate and Perkins had the 
largest fenders hanging close to the side- 
ladder; and Bertie Young threw out a 
line toward the bow of the boat, while 
Ellsworth threw out another toward the 
stern. These were immediately made fast, 
but the Captain ordered them kept fastened 
with some slack, so as to allow enough free 
play between the boat and the vessel to 
prevent unnecessary strain. 

One man, who seemed to be the Skipper, 
was giving directions on the lifeboat, which 
kept rising and falling with the waves, 
alongside the Bright Wing. 

The man lying in the stern was old and 
sick; but his eye watched what was going 
on, though his body remained motionless. 
As soon as the lines were made fast, the 
[ 225 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


Skipper on the lifeboat signed to one of 
the younger men to get aboard the ship; 
and this one, watching his chance, waited 
until the boat had risen on the top of a 
wave, — and then, grasping one of the 
stays of the Bright Wing, lightly stepped 
on to the rail, and down upon the deck. 
He then stood holding out his arms over 
the side-ladder toward the crew of the 
boat, while the Skipper held up a small 
boy of about twelve, who was lifted on 
deck without any difficulty. 

After that, five able-bodied men jumped 
on board, each watching his chance, until 
only the Skipper and the sick man were 
left. Meantime the Captain leaned over 
the rail and asked the Skipper whether he 
had any tackle by which the invalid could 
be raised, as he was evidently unable to 
walk ; the Skipper shook his head, and the 
Captain then threw him a swimming belt 
and line which had been used on the 
Bright Wing in exceptional cases, to teach 
beginners to swim. 

The bowline was then hauled in until 
[ 226 ] 


A RESCUE 


the lifeboat drew elose to the boat boom, 
which had been let down by the Captain’s 
orders. The Skipper then hauled on the 
boom lines until the stern of the lifeboat 
lay close to the tip end of the boom. He 
then strapped the belt around the old man’s 
waist and fastened the line attached to it 
with a bowline knot to the end of the boom. 

As soon as the patient had been properly 
strapped up, the Captain gave the signal, 
and his frail old body was hoisted into the 
air slightly above the height of the rail. 
Then the boat boom was swung over the 
rail, and, as soon as the bent body of the 
old man had passed over the side, hang- 
ing, with a slight swinging motion, about 
two feet above the deck, Mr. Wentworth 
took him in his arms and Jack Perkins un- 
fastened the belt. Then they carried him 
to the day bunk, and the boys supported 
him with pillows, while Mr. Wentworth 
and Jack went back to help haul the 
lifeboat alongside the ship. The Skipper 
passed up several cases containing a sex- 
tant, compass, and chronometer, — also a 
[ m ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


long tin tube in which was a roll of charts, 
— and then, in his turn, he stepped on to 
the deck. 

Meantime the old man had been left 
on the day bunk in charge of Tom, Dick 
and Chippie, who happened to be the boys 
nearest at hand, when — suddenly — they 
noticed that he had turned deadly pale 
and had evidently fainted. 

“Take the pillows from under his head, 
Tom,” said Dick. “We’ll lay him per- 
fectly flat, and. Chippie, you unbutton his 
shirt and free his throat and chest. I’ll 
take off his boots and rub his legs upward.” 

“Now, Tom, go below and get some fresh 
water and a towel.” 

The boys worked so quietly together — 
without any excitement or haste — that 
hardly any one else knew that the old 
gentleman was unconscious until gradually 
the other boys gathered around the day 
bunk, when Tom said : 

“Stand back, fellows, you’re cutting off 
the air from him; one of you run and 
report to Mr. Miller what has happened.” 

[ 228 ] 


A RESCUE 


In another minute Mr. Miller was look- 
ing over the heads of some of the smaller 
scouts at the patient on the day bunk, 
and smiled his approval of the way in 
which the three boys were working. Just 
then the old man opened his eyes, and 
Mr. Miller leaned over to feel his pulse. 

“It’s fairly good, and I think we can 
put back the pillows now, and he’ll feel 
more comfortable. But we’ve got to keep 
him warm, Smith, so run down below and 
get a couple of blankets. We’ll let him 
stay up in the fresh air as long as we 
can.” 

While all this had been going on, hardly 
a word had been spoken, excepting by 
the Captain and the Skipper and the boys 
at the day bunk; and the sense of relief 
from suspense — when the Skipper finally 
stepped aboard — was so great that a 
cheer arose, beginning at the forecastle 
and taken up by the boys, to vent their 
feelings of happiness at the rescue. 

Finally the lifeboat itself was fastened 
astern while the cook began busily pre- 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


paring hot coffee and broth, and bread 
and butter. 

After the old man had rested for half an 
hour or so, and had taken a few sips of 
broth, he was carried down into the officers’ 
cabin and put into Mr. Wentworth’s bunk ; 
and to Mr. Wentworth the care of the 
patient was assigned. It was also ar- 
ranged that there should be a Sea Scout 
attached to him as special attendant, to 
be relieved every three hours, and Dick 
Gray, who was the first to whom this duty 
was allotted, sat down on the cabin locker 
next the old man’s bunk with mingled 
feelings of sympathy and pride. 

The watch on duty had stuck to their 
post admirably during these exceptional 
circumstances, and now the Captain or- 
dered the sails close hauled and pointed 
the ship as nearly as possible into the 
wind while waiting instructions as to their 
future course. 

While taking his coffee in the cabin, 
the Skipper explained that they were 
bound for Boston, having lost their ship, 
[ 230 ] 


A RESCUE 


the Monmouth from Cardiff, by fire, about 
fifty miles from the coast. 

“There is another lifeboat still adrift, as 
far as I know,” said he, “which abandoned 
the ship some hours before we did, but I 
believe it is likely to have been picked up 
by some coastwise vessel, just as our own 
boat has been picked up by the Bright 
Wing. The Monmouth was a tramp ocean 
steamer of about two thousand tons, laden 
with Welsh cannel coal, for Boston. Now 
the first thing I want to do, after thanking 
you, gentlemen, for saving our lives, is 
to get into communication, if possible, 
with the crew of the other lifeboat; and 
I suppose the best way to do this would 
be to get to a telegraph office and com- 
municate directly with the nearest wireless 
station, or with the British Consul in 
Boston, or both.” 

The Chairman at once sent for the Cap- 
tain ; and, considering the direction of the 
wind, which had slightly veered to the 
northward, it was decided to keep on their 
original course to Vineyard Haven and 
[ 231 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 

send out telegrams of inquiry from there. 
As they were only about thirty miles away, 
they would probably drop anchor in the 
Haven in about three or four hours, and 
before the closing of the telegraph office. 
After this decision the Captain returned on 
deck and gave the order to slacken sheets ; 
and in another five minutes the Bright Wing 
had gathered herself together and was slid- 
ing along in a straight line for Vineyard 
Haven. 

It was necessary to detail an extra 
helper for the cook ; and, at half -past five, 
the regular supper time, all the crew of the 
lifeboat, with the exception of the sick man 
and the Skipper, were given seats at the 
boys’ table ; while the Skipper as the 
guest of the Chairman sat at the officers’ 
table; eight of the boys had their supper 
separately, after the others. 

During the meal the talk, of course, 
turned on the shipwreck and fire at sea. 

“We discovered the fire,” said the Skip- 
per, “two days before we left the ship. 
Some of the coal had caught fire in the 
[ 232 ] 


A RESCUE 


hold and had gained sufficient headway, 
before being discovered, to make it im- 
possible to quench it by water. The heat, 
of course, was intense ; and the harder 
we worked with the pumps at one end, the 
more the fire seemed to gain in intensity 
at the other. Finally I gave the order to 
batten down all the hatches and try to 
smother it; while, at the same time, we 
put on full steam in the hope of making 
Boston Harbor in time to save the ship, 
although her cargo would, in any case, be a 
dead loss. But, unfortunately, the great 
heat in the hold not only made it impos- 
sible to stay in the engine room and fire 
room, but also interfered with the working 
of the machinery; and it soon became 
evident that there was nothing to do but 
to let her burn, so I gave orders for all 
hands to try and save what they could of 
their personal belongings. 

“One of the stokers was overcome by 
the heat and would have burned to death 
at his post if the Chief Officer and I had 
not got him out of the fire room just in 
[ 233 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


time to avoid being suffocated by the 
fumes ourselves. There were only two 
lifeboats aboard, and we lowered the stoker 
who had so nearly lost his life into the first 
one. 

“Six men and the two assistant engineers 
took their places in the first lifeboat in 
charge of the Chief Officer, and were 
equipped with three pairs of oars, a compass, 
three cases of food, and two jugs of water. 
I estimated that they could live for three 
days, by great economy, and they all felt 
confident that they would be picked up 
long before the three days were up. 

“It was a relief to me to feel that at least 
half of the crew were in a fair way to be 
rescued. The old gentleman in the cabin 
is my father-in-law, who is on his way out 
West to join a married daughter, living in 
Vincennes, Indiana ; and the boy is his 
grandson, whose parents have recently 
died, and who is going with the old man to 
find a new home on American soil. I pre- 
ferred,” said he, “to keep the members of 
my family with me, although it might 
[ 234 ] 


A RESCUE 


possibly have been safer for them to get 
away in the first lifeboat; but there were 
still a number of things for me to do be- 
fore leaving the ship. 

“The northeast storm was just about 
at its tag-end when lifeboat Number 1 left 
the Monmouth. The wind was in her 
favor, in a general way, and the water, 
though still rough, was gradually calming 
down. After seeing them off and waving 
my hat as they drew away from the vessel, 
I went over in my mind all the things that 
should be got together and put into the 
second boat. The belongings of the crew 
did not fill more than three or four sea- 
bags and were quickly gathered. The 
cash, the instruments, and the ship’s papers 
were carefully deposited in the bottom 
and covered with oilskin ; and now, when 
we were all ready to step aboard, the 
Second Officer reported that he could find 
only one pair of oars! There was a mast, 
but no sail ; and we would have to be very 
careful not to break or lose either of the 
two oars upon which so much depended. 

[ 235 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


“But the sky was clearing, and we were 
all delighted to leave the heat and deso- 
lation of the burning ship. It was six 
o’clock in the evening as we left her ; and, 
although we were obliged to travel slowly, 
our course lay toward the pleasant gleams 
of the setting sun — which meant a friendly 
shore and the beginning of a new chapter.” 

While the Skipper was telling his story 
at the supper table, every man and boy 
stopped to listen with bated breath; and, 
as soon as supper was over and the boys 
had scrambled on deck, Tom, Dick, and 
Chippie found one another, as if by mag- 
netic attraction, and with the same idea 
in their minds. 

“Did you notice the Skipper was the 
last man to leave the ship.?” said Chippie. 

“You bet!” answered Dick and Tom in 
a single breath. “After you. Pilot!” 


[ 236 ] 


CHAPTER XX 
Vineyard Haven 


TT was nine o’clock in the evening when 
the Bright Wing dropped anchor in 
Vineyard Haven; and the long boat, with 
a picked crew of four boys, took the Skipper 
and the Chairman ashore as quickly as 
possible. Much to their disappointment, 
however, they found the telegraph oflfice 
closed ; but, at the landing, they met the 
chaplain of the Sailors’ Bethel, who was 
an old friend, and he entered very heartily 
into their plans for trying to communicate 
with the crew of lifeboat Number 1. He 
had been at his present post for many years 
and had much experience of shipwrecked 
seamen. 

“It would probably not be any use to 
[ 237 1 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 

telegraph to the British Consul in Boston 
to-night,” said he, “for the office would 
be closed by this time; and, unless your 
other lifeboat had been picked up by some 
steamer equipped with wireless, there would 
probably be no information about her 
as yet at the radio station. The quickest 
and best way, both of giving and receiving 
information, would be to wait until to- 
morrow morning and then to report to the 
British Consulate by long-distance tele- 
phone. In that way you can get an answer 
at once, and the Consul will let you know 
if he is in touch with the other members of 
your crew. But won’t you come over to 
the Bethel for a while and make us a little 
visit ?” 

“Why, thank you,” answered the Chair- 
man. “We would like to go, I am sure, 
and I would especially like the boys to 
see your place.” 

The boat’s crew consisted of Dick, Tom, 
Perkins, and Young; and, on arriving at 
the Bethel, they found half a dozen sea- 
faring men reading the newspapers and 
[ 238 ] 


VINEYARD HAVEN 


magazines, or playing checkers. When they 
heard from the chaplain what had happened, 
they all gathered around the Skipper and 
plied him with questions about the fire and 
the wreck, and everything that had occurred 
since. The Skipper had taken an observa- 
tion at noon the very day they abandoned 
the Monmouth, and so was able to tell them 
just where they had left the burning wreck. 
He answered all their questions clearly and 
fully, giving many nautical details which 
are always interesting to seafaring men. 

‘T guess you must feel,” dryly remarked 
an old salt, “as if you had just dropped off 
the gridiron.” 

“Yes,” answered the Skipper with a 
smile, “but not into the fire. First we 
dropped into the water to cool off a bit, and 
then we dropped into the arms of our 
friends. 

“Say, Chaplain,” continued he, address- 
ing their host, “isn’t there something in the 
Good Book about being ‘covered with His 
Wings’?” 

“Why, yes,” answered the chaplain, 
[ 239 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


‘“He shall cover thee with His feathers, 
and under His wings shalt thou trust.’” 

There was a pause — and all were silent, 
as they seemed to reflect upon the words 
quoted by the chaplain. 

“Well,” remarked the Skipper medita- 
tively, “I have seen a good many vessels 
in my life, but I never saw one just like 
that little schooner we came off just now, — 
the Bright Wing, they call her. I shouldn’t 
wonder if she was one of them wings of the 
Almighty that we are told to trust in.” 

“ She might be one of the little feathers,” 
said the Chairman, with a smile. “She 
floats lightly enough upon the water ! ” 

“If you ever need a friend in a tight 
place, boys,” resumed the Skipper, “I can 
recommend the Sea Scouts; I understand 
that’s what they call the boys aboard of 
her.” 

They must have talked for about two 
hours; and, when the visitors got up to 
say good night, some of the men wanted 
to shake hands, and all of them felt the 
way soldiers do when they have heard a 
[ 240 1 


VINEYARD HAVEN 


thrilling tale of battle or adventure. Their 
attention had been of the deepest kind 
because the talk was about things that they 
understood through and through, and cared 
more about than almost anything else. 

The chaplain walked back to the landing 
with his guests ; and, as they neared the 
wharf, the boys ran ahead to unfasten the 
painter and get the boat ready. 

“Say,” said Dick, “that Skipper’s a 
corker. What do you think. Jack?” 

“He seems to know his business all 
right,” answered Jack, “and to have kept 
his head cool in spite of the fire. Sh-h ! 
Take your positions, boys, here they come.” 

As the two men got into the boat, the 
Chairman said : 

“We’ll see you again to-morrow morning. 
Chaplain, and report progress.” 

With that they waved good-by and 
disappeared in the darkness to the rhythmic 
sound of the oars. 

Hammocks had been swung for the men 
of the Monmouth, partly on the main deck 
and partly on the berth deck with the boys. 

[ 241 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


There were also two extra bunks in the 
forecastle prepared for them, and the 
Skipper shared a double berth in the cabin 
with the Second Officer. Mr. Wentworth 
and Mr. Miller slept on the day bunk, 
facing one another, under the open sky. 
There was no better place on the ship to 
sleep in than this, on summer evenings at 
anchor; but as the day bunk ran directly 
under the main boom, it was exposed to a 
steady draught whenever the ship was 
sailing, and only the green hands occa- 
sionally wanted to sleep there when they 
were under way. 

Jimmie, the little cabin boy of the 
Monmouth, had become great friends with 
Chippie Smith, and the latter had found a 
cosy corner for him near his own bunk. It 
was astonishing to see what a difference 
it made on the Bright Wing to have such a 
lot of new people aboard and so many new 
faces, although the work went on just the 
same as usual. 

Orders had been given privately the 
night before through the “B.M.’s” to all 
[ 242 ] 


VINEYARD HAVEN 

the Sea Scouts that routine duties were to 
go on precisely the same as under ordinary 
circumstances, and that the newcomers were 
to be considered and treated as guests of 
the ship; and the hospitality of the ship 
required that every scout and officer on 
board should be willing to share the use of 
his belongings with their guests and feel 
responsible for their comfort and safety. 
After consulting with the Chairman and Mr, 
Miller, regular stations at quarters were 
assigned to the officers and seamen of the 
Monmouth and they were also informed of 
the ship’s regulations through the Skipper 
and the Second Officer, Among the Mon- 
mouth’s men — besides the Second Officer 
and Mr. Apthorp who had served as steward 
— were the chief engineer, two firemen, 
Jimmie, the cabin boy, and three seamen. 
They fully entered into the spirit of their 
new situation, and even proposed to the 
Second Officer that they should form a 
ship’s band from among their own number ; 
for they had a concertina, a bugle, and a 
flute among them, which they had been able 
[ 243 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


to carry away from the wreck uninjured. 
The Skipper thought they had better 
wait awhile before making permanent 
plans, for, much as they enjoyed the good 
time they were having on the Boy Scout 
ship, they could hardly, under the cir- 
cumstances, expect to stay there long. 

It was Thursday evening when they 
reached Vineyard Haven, and on Friday 
morning, immediately after “colors”, the 
Chairman and the Skipper went ashore 
again, in the launch this time, accompanied 
by Mr. Wilson, the mate, and the boatswain. 
When they returned, two of the^ boat’s 
crews were out for rowing practice, while the 
two other sections were on deck splicing 
ropes and practising their bandaging for 
“first aid.” 

The Chairman knew, of course, that the 
Skipper would first of all want to have a 
talk with his own men and tell them the 
result of his effort to communicate with the 
Consul ; and so he offered them the use of 
the cabin, and they all trooped down the 
after companionway. In about ten minutes 
[ 244 ] 


VINEYARD HAVEN 


the Skipper put his head above the cabin 
house and invited the Chairman to come 
down and join them. 

“Mr. Chairman,” said he, “I have told 
my men here, including Mr. Apthorp, my 
father-in-law, what we learnt over the 
telephone this morning. Of course, we 
are mighty glad at the news that the crew 
of lifeboat Number 1 was picked up by the 
Mauretania and taken to New York. So 
long as they are in communication with 
the British Consul in Boston, we need not 
decide anything about meeting them until 
we get to his oflSce. But there is one thing 
we’ve got to attend to straight off, and that 
is to shake hands with you, and every man 
and boy aboard your ship. There’s no 
way that we can make a return, except 
by passing along what you have done for 
us to some other poor devils, if we should 
ever get the chance. So, all we have to 
say now, sir, is ‘God bless you’, and put us 
ashore as quick as you can.” 

“I think,” answered the Chairman, “we 
had better let you off at Wood’s Hole, 
[ 245 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


which is about the nearest railroad terminus 
on the mainland. It is only about six miles 
from here, as the crow flies, and about three 
hours by rail from Boston. I am sorry to 
part so soon, just as we were beginning to 
get acquainted,” continued he, “for, if 
this wind holds, it will not take us long to 
get across the sound. What does your 
father-in-law think of this plan.?” 

Mr. Apthorp had insisted on putting on 
his regular clothes that morning, and was 
sitting in one of the cabin chairs when he 
was thus referred to. 

“I think, sir,” said he, “the plan is a 
good one ; I am beginning to feel like a new 
man from the rest I have had on board 
your ship; but we crowd you up more 
than is comfortable for you. I advise you 
to get rid of us as quickly as you can, sir, 
because, when we get good and used to your 
way of seafaring, we’ll all want to stay with 
you forever !” 

There was nobody ashore, so they were 
able to set sail at once. Dick Gray was on 
duty as messenger that morning, and he 
[ 246 ] 


VINEYARD HAVEN 

took the message to the Captain to get under 
way as soon as he was ready. 

The sails were set, and the anchor weighed 
in short order, for the crew of the Monmouth 
insisted on being allowed to do their share 
at the ropes and windlass. A stiff breeze 
was blowing from the same direction as the 
night before, — a little north of northeast, — 
so that they would have to tack out against 
the wind until they passed the mouth of the 
harbor, and then would have a straight 
course for Wood’s Hole, with the wind 
abeam on the starboard tack. But, just as 
they were about to hoist the anchor, the 
chaplain of the Bethel arrived alongside in 
his launch and offered them a tow. This, 
of course, was a great help, as the wind 
was too strong for a tow by the ship’s 
launch, so the offer was gratefully accepted, 
and it became unnecessary to tack against 
the wind. 

The chaplain’s launch was a powerful 
boat which he was in the habit of using 
to visit incoming vessels and to bring their 
crews ashore to the Bethel. It did not 
[ 247 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 

take him long to tow the Bright Wing out 
to where she could head directly for Wood’s 
Hole, and then he cast off the line and waved 
his hand for good-by. 

Ellsworth was up in the bow at the time, 
with Dick Gray, and immediately began 
hauling in the line and coiling it up in its 
place. Dick watched the launch disappear 
in the distance until it was only a speck 
upon the water. 

“I guess he's done his good turn for 
to-day,” said he to Ellsworth. 

“Yes,” replied the “B.M.”, “but you 
can’t trust that sort of fellow; he’s likely 
to do a half dozen more before the day’s 
over.” 

“That’s right,” assented Dick, “I sup- 
pose you get the habit, like — after a 
while.” 


[ 248 ] 


CHAPTER XXI 

Disrating and Promotion 

^T^HE Sea Scouts were drawn up in line 
as their guests went over the side at 
Wood’s Hole, a short time afterward, ac- 
companied by Mr. Miller, who saw them 
off on the train for Boston. As the train 
was moving out of the station, Jimmie was 
sitting by the open window and Mr. 
Miller reached up his jack-knife. 

“Here, Jimmie,” said he, “is a souvenir 
of the Bright Wing. Get a lanyard and 
put it round your neck and it will bring 
you luck.” 

The next moment the train was out of 
sight behind the station, and Mr. Miller 
turned to walk down to the water. 

“It’s funny,” thought he to himself, “I 
feel as if I had known that bunch of men for 
[ 249 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


years, and yet it is only twenty-four hours 
since they came on board.” 

As soon as he had returned to the ship 
and reported to the Chairman, they weighed 
anchor and passed between the islands into 
Buzzard’s Bay on the way to the Cape Cod 
Canal, It seemed a tame piece of business 
to tow through the “ditch”, when they 
might have had a grand old sail around the 
Cape again, but they were due in Hull on 
Saturday morning, at the latest, and an- 
other ship’s crew was waiting to get aboard 
the following Monday. 

A special conference of officers was called 
by the Chairman immediately after dinner, 
where the question of Ronald Jones’s fit- 
ness as a petty officer was brought up and 
carefully discussed. None of the officers 
felt that he was able to carry the responsi- 
bilities of a “B.M,”, and they knew that 
he would lower the standard of discipline 
if allowed to remain in this position. It 
was voted to disrate him, in the usual way, 
by asking the Chairman to explain the 
matter to the boy carefully beforehand; 

[ 250 ] 


DISRATING AND PROMOTION 


so that, if possible, he would himself see 
the justice of the decision. 

Then the question came up as to who 
would be his successor. The next day — 
which was Saturday — was the regular time 
for awarding ratings and promotions at the 
end of the cruise, and it was also the time 
appointed for the settlement of the ques- 
tion of Dick Gray’s commendation for 
efficient conduct during the Salem fire. The 
idea of his promotion to succeed Jones 
occurred to everybody present at the same 
time. The matter of his foul play at base- 
ball was considered absolutely settled and 
atoned for by the sincere and manly con- 
fession he had made of his fault, and the 
complete change in his bearing and work 
since that event. 

“That boy was the greatest kicker on 
board at the beginning of the cruise,” said 
Mr. Miller, “and even objected to striking 
the bell on time, but now he positively 
enjoys being punctual and is one of the 
most trustworthy boys in the ship’s com- 
pany.” 

[ 251 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


“Apart from the other matter,” remarked 
the Chairman, “that is just the quality we 
need in a ‘B.M.’, provided he is far enough 
along in his seamanship; and the spirit 
he showed in coming to the rescue of Smith 
and little Brown, the other day, in itself 
speaks volumes for his gain in manliness 
and efficiency.” 

“We all feel the same way about that,” 
replied the Captain; “and, besides, there 
was never any trouble about Gray’s under- 
standing things. It was only a question 
with him of being willing and straight- 
forward. He seems to have learnt that 
now, and it won’t be hard to put him wise 
where he may be lacking in points of 
seamanship.” 

As the end of the cruise was drawing near, 
it was decided to call the company to special 
quarters that very afternoon, as soon as 
the Chairman had finished his talks with 
Jones and Dick ; for, of course, it was 
necessary that the latter should be warned 
of his coming promotion. 

Boys who read this book are familiar 
[ 252 ] 


DISRATING AND PROMOTION 


enough by this time with the way official 
announcements are made at quarters, — 
the main idea being that whatever is said 
is intended to be publicly noted by every- 
body on board. 

In his talk with Jones, the Chairman ex- 
plained carefully the difference between the 
duties of an officer and his official relations 
to the men under his command, on the one 
hand, and the actions of a vulgar boss, or 
“bucko mate” on the other. 

“The latter,” said the Chairman, “is a 
man who puts his own self-will in the place 
of law, because his mind is not large enough 
to grasp the idea of law. His only notion 
is that he is bigger than the other fellow, 
and he wants to prove his bigness. The 
true officer, on the other hand, is personally 
humble and knows that his only authority 
comes from the law which he represents, and 
which he himself must be even more careful 
to obey than the best of his subordinates. 

“You see, Jones, a true officer respects the 
personal liberty of his men so long as it 
does not interfere with duty. For instance, 
[ 253 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


a boy has a right to judge for himself, on 
ordinary occasions, whether he has had 
enough to eat or not. It is an oflficer’s 
duty to respect his personal liberty as 
well as to enforce whatever has to do with 
his official duty. If a boy is not doing 
his work properly, he should be reprimanded 
and reported, if necessary; but an officer 
has no right to make him stand on his head, 
or to give him any merely arbitrary com- 
mand in the name of his official authority. 
Do you see what I mean?” 

“I think I do, — a little, sir,” answered 
Jones. “You mean that orders should be 
given for the good of the whole thing, and 
not just because an officer wants this or 
that done for the fun of it.” 

“That’s right, Jones, and I can tell you 
it is a great thing, that, and is worth think- 
ing a lot about. It’s a big principle or law 
of life. If a man is big enough to grasp it, so 
that he can carry it out in his actions, he 
has in him the making of an officer or leader, 
because he inspires confidence in others. 
You have proved that you do not possess 
[ 254 ] 


DISRATING AND PROMOTION 


this quality now, but you have shown me 
that you are capable of imderstanding it, 
which is the first step toward becoming 
that kind of a fellow. Whether you ever 
do so or not depends on how much you 
care to work'for it. If you care enough, and 
will give up always thinking of yourself 
first, that will be so much to the good.” 

“Well,” said Jones, “it’s all new to me, 
sir, and I’d like sometime to have another 
chance. I’m not sure that I am big enough, 
sir; it’s like being in new waters where 
you don’t know your bearings.” 

“We are here to give you your bearings, 
Jones,” replied the Chairman, “but you 
are the only person that can supply the 
headway ; and, as I said, if you care enough, 
and will give up other things for the sake of 
it, you will have all the strength you need 
for this. If you should come aboard next 
summer, with a good record ashore from 
now on, I, for one, would be in favor of 
giving you another chance as a ‘B.M.’” 

“Thank you, sir,” exclaimed Jones, “I 
feel as if I’d like to try.” 

[ 255 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 

“You know you will be helping us if 
you succeed, don’t you ? In work like 
this we all need one another’s help; and, 
perhaps one of these days you’ll be passing 
it along to some other fellow.” 

As Jones stepped on deck he was sur- 
prised that he did not feel more unhappy 
about his failure to make good. It was 
not that he did not care, for he cared more 
than ever before. He had not understood 
the responsibilities of a petty officer before ; 
and, now that he did understand them, 
he was not surprised that he had failed ; 
he wondered, rather, that he had not made 
a worse botch of it. 

“Now,” thought he, “I’ll go and tell 
the fellows of my section what’s happened, 
and explain to them what I’ve found 
out.” 

The Chairman’s talk with Dick was very 
brief. 

“The officers are of the opinion. Gray, 
that you are doing your work better than 
when you first came on board ; do you think 
they are mistaken.?*” 

[ 256 ] 


DISRATING AND PROMOTION 


“Well, sir,” answered Dick, “I’m sure 
of one thing; it’s not half as good as it 
ought to be, but I do care more than I did. 
I never knew what ‘trustworthy’ meant, 
sir, until that day when I found out that I 
had been untrustworthy, and had taken a 
mean advantage. I learnt something that 
time, and I guess I’ll never forget it.” 

“I believe you never will, Dick, and the 
officers of the ship agree with me that you 
should have more responsibility laid upon 
you. There is to be a special call to quarters 
in half an hour and you are to be appointed 
of the first section, second division.” 

Dick looked up with evident surprise 
and exclaimed : 

“Half an hour, sir! That’s a short time 
to get on to my job !” 

“I trust you for that, my boy. Many 
of the duties you are, of course, already 
familiar with. The backbone of the job is 
to see that your men learn the same sense 
of responsibility that you have gained 
yourself. As regards necessary points of 
seamanship, in which you may be lacking 
[ 257 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


at present, go to the Chief ‘B.M.’; and, 
if necessary, he will pass you on to the 
boatswain. If you realize what you don’t 
know, you can very soon find out all you 
need to know. The worst thing is to 
imagine that you know when you don’t.” 

“What’s the matter with Jones, sir.?*” 
asked Dick. 

“I think Jones is coming along all right,” 
replied the Chairman. “His appointment 
was a mistake, although it would have been 
difficult to know it beforehand. There 
are other things that he must learn first 
before he can be a petty officer, and I 
believe that he has begun to learn them 
already. You might go up and have a 
little talk with him before quarters.” 

The two boys had their little talk then, 
and it turned out to be the first of many 
talks — some very long ones, in which they 
exchanged ideas and compared notes. That 
afternoon on the Bright Wing was the 
beginning of a friendship which bids fair 
to last all their lives. 


[ 258 ] 


CHAPTER XXII 

Friendly Things and a New Point op 
View 


got through the Canal late in 



the afternoon; and, during the play- 
time between supper and prayers, it seemed 
as if the boys were keen on making the most 
of their last evening on board. 

There was a sparring match between Jack 
Perkins and the boatswain for heavyweights, 
and between Dick Gray and Chippie Smith 
for lightweights. Then there was wrestling 
between Bertie Young and Ellsworth, and 
some “cock fighting” between the younger 
boys. After that the boatswain got out his 
fiddle, and half a dozen of the crew danced 
the hornpipe, both single and double — 
including the Captain, who, in addition to 


[ 259 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


the hornpipe, performed the “skipping rope 
dance” for which he was especially famous, 
and which was the envy of all beholders. 

“There isn’t a boy on the ship who is as 
lightfooted as the Captain,” remarked Mr. 
Wentworth. 

“And there isn’t a man who has a better 
head on him,” said Jack Perkins. “Three 
cheers for Captain Goodfellow ! — Cool and 
steady ! — Always ready ! Rah, Rah, Rah ! 
Good-f el-low !” 

As the cheers arose, all eyes looked around 
to find the Captain ; but he had a way of 
disappearing when bouquets were handed 
around and didn’t turn up again until it was 
time for him to take his trick at the wheel. 

Meantime, while all the merriment was 
going on, Billy Brown crept away from the 
crowd and went forward of the windlass to 
think a little by himself. He was feeling 
very badly ; and, after a while, Dick, who 
happened to be standing by the starboard 
fore-rigging, noticed him there. 

“What’s the matter, Billy?” he asked, 
and sat down on a coil of rope beside him. 

[ 260 ] 


FRIENDLY THINGS 


Brown did not answer at first ; and then, 
with some difficnlty, muttered : 

“ Well — you see — Dick — it’s the swim- 
ming !” 

And then, changing his manner, as if 
the floodgates of his grief or his anger were 
opened — he broke out in a torrent of 
words, and Dick hardly knew whether he 
was going to cry or challenge him to fight. 

“What do you s’pose is the matter with 
me? I’m scared blue in the water, and I 
can’t seem to help it. The old man says 
I’ve got to get over it, but I don’t see how 
I’m going to ! Blast you — how do you do 
it?” 

Dick thought for a few seconds and then 
remarked quietly: 

“Well, seems to me I’ve heard that, when 
you are afraid to do a thing, there’s only 
one way out, and that is to do it.” 

“Isn’t that just what I’m doing?” said 
Bill, with vehemence. “I plunge in all 
right, but it’s after I’ve got in that I’m 
scared if anything different happens!” 

There was another pause, and a longer one 
[ 261 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


than the last, and then Dick’s face lit up 
with a bright smile. 

“I have it,” said he; “look, Billy, it’s 
as plain as the nose on your face.” 

“What?” asked Bill incredulously. 

“It’s because you don’t feel friendly with 
the water. Now, don’t say a word until I 
tell you what I mean. My Dad, he has a 
story that I’ve heard him tell fifty times, 
about when he was a young man and was 
walking along the road for two or three 
days with two other fellows to a lumber 
camp in Maine. He says whenever they 
came to a village, the dogs of course would 
run out to see who they were ; and there 
was one among them (whom Dad calls Bob) 
that the dogs would always bark at much 
worse than they did at Dad and the other 
fellow. W'^ell, Bob didn’t like getting par- 
ticular attention from the dogs ; and, after 
a while, he got so cross that he used to put 
stones in his pocket all ready to throw at 
them. Dad and the other fellow kept 
wondering what it was about Bob that made 
the dogs hate him as if he were a natural 


FRIENDLY THINGS 


enemy; and, finally, they decided it was 
because Bob was scared of the dogs. Then 
they began asking him questions about his 
home and what he used to do when he was 
a boy, and they found that he never had a 
dog of his own, and didn’t understand dogs. 

‘“I don’t like ’em,’ said he, ‘and I 
guess I come by it rightly, for Mother she 
was fond of cats, and never would have a 
dog about the place.’ 

“Dad, — he mulled over this, and he got 
more and more sure and certain that the 
reason the dogs didn’t like Bob was because 
he was scared of them. Dogs like folks 
who are friendly with ’em, says Dad, and 
when you’re scared you’re only thinking 
about yourself and your own safety, and 
so you can’t be friendly.” 

“But I don’t understand,” answered 
Billy. “I can see how you can be friendly 
with a dog, but how can you be friendly with 
the sea when it’s liable to drown you ?” 

“How can you be friendly with a dog 
when he’s liable to bite you.?*” retorted 
Dick. “The sea is no more liable to 
[ 263 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


drown you, if you treat it right, than the 
dog is liable to bite you if you’re not afraid 
of him.” 

Just then Ellsworth and Chippie came 
up and joined them, and Dick repeated 
earnestly to them what he and Brown 
had been talking about. 

“Of course,” said Ellsworth, “you can’t 
expect to get along in the sea unless you 
keep the rules of the sea. A bird knows the 
rules of the air, but can’t get along under 
water because he isn’t made so that he 
can keep the rules of the water. But you 
and I, Bill, are made so that we can 
learn the rules of the sea and of the air, as 
well as those of the land, if we want to, 
and aren’t scared to try. You have to 
have a brain to keep your balance, wherever 
you are — and your brain has to know how 
to do it ; and it can learn if it isn’t scared. 
For instance, take the rules of the land ; you 
can keep up on the two wheels of a bicycle 
so long as you’re moving, because you’ve 
got a brain ; but the bicycle can’t by itself, 
and falls over unless you prop it.” 

[ 264 ] 


FRIENDLY THINGS 


“What’s that got to do with swimming ?” 
asked Billy in a dull tone. 

“Why,” answered Ellsworth, “you’ve 
got to learn to balance in the water and on 
the water, just as you do on a bicycle, — 
only it’s a little different ; and, if you do, 
the water will prevent you from drowning. 
When you know how to balance on the 
water, you can lie down on it and float, 
very much as you’d lie down on the floor; 
and it will keep you up, so long as your 
balance is right, in the same way that the 
floor does. But the hard thing about it is 
that you can’t keep your balance if you’re 
scared.” 

“And,” broke in Dick, “if you’re friendly 
with the water, you can’t be scared.” 

“That’s a funny thing,” said Brown 
thoughtfully, “I guess I don’t understand 
the water. Just the same as that friend 
of your Dad’s didn’t understand dogs. Is 
that what you mean, Dickie?” 

“You bet,” answered Dick, “that’s just 
right. But you don’t seem to see that the 
sea is friendly. All it asks is for you to 
[ 265 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


understand and keep its rules, the same 
as you have to keep the regulations on 
board ship.” 

Brown had brightened up a little during 
the last part of the conversation ; but, 
after a while, he grew sober again. 

“What are you fellows talking about, 
anyway.? The sea isn’t a man that can 
be friendly or unfriendly any more than a 
table or a chair can. It hasn’t got as much 
brains as a dog ! It can’t even bark, let 
alone talk to a fellow.” 

“Do you hear that. Chippie?” asked 
Dick, with a smile, “he says the sea can’t 
talk ! It seems to me I’ve heard it roaring 
and bellowing among the rocks lots of 
times. I’ve heard it laughing, too, only it 
speaks to your eyes as well as to your ears. 
It smiles too, sometimes, and sometimes 
it looks cross; but, on the whole, it’s a 
great big friendly thing, and is a mighty 
handy help in getting from one place to 
another.” 

Chippie and Ellsworth listened with 
interest to what Dick was saying, and it 
[ 266 ] 


FRIENDLY THINGS 


was a wonder to them that Billy didn’t see 
it just as they did. 

“He’s right, when he says he doesn’t 
understand the sea,’’ thought Dick. “The 
sea not able to speak ! You might as well 
say that the sun isn’t able to shine and that 
the stars can’t blink at a fellow.” 

At this point Ellsworth and Chippie left 
them and joined some of the other boys on 
the day bunk. 

Billy was silent for a long time and 
Dick sat by, waiting for him to say some- 
thing. 

“Do you know, Dick,” said Billy, after 
a long pause, “I’ve never thought about 
things that way in my life before ! Does it 
mean that everything is friendly if you 
treat it right?” 

“Yes,” answered Dick, “something like 
that.” 

“But how about shipwrecks, when hun- 
dreds and hundreds of people are drowned ? ” 

“Shouldn’t wonder,” answered Dick 
slowly, “if — a good many times — the 
laws of the sea were broken ; and then, 
[ 267 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


of course — when the right time comes — 
death is just what a fellow needs!” 

“What do you mean?” asked Billy, 
almost fiercely. 

“Well, Dad says death is like changing 
cars on the railroad. If we didn’t change 
cars, we wouldn’t get to where we belong. 
He says it’s only a station in life, and the 
folks who have been friendly with the 
other things along the road, are always 
friendly with death.” 

“ Well, that beats anything I ever heard ! ” 
exclaimed Billy. “How do you know when 
‘the right time comes’?” 

“Well — there’s a Conductor — he’s 
friendly, too. He tells you when it’s time 
to change cars, and he never makes a 
mistake. We needn’t worry about that; 
Dad says.” 

“I’d like to see your Dad, Dick !” 

“Maybe you will some day. Bill; he’d 
like to see you, I’m dead certain.” 

“What makes your Dad like that, Dick? 
My Dad died when I was a little shaver, but 
I never heard of his saying such things.” 

[ 268 ] 


FRIENDLY THINGS 


“Well, maybe my Dad didn’t always 
feel that way himself. I shouldn’t wonder, 
Billy, if he used to have to do a lot of 
fighting in himself — something like what 
you’re doing.” 

“I’d like to see him — sure!'’ repeated 
Brown. 

“You could come over any time,” said 
Dick cordially; “only Sunday would be 
the best day. Your town, Northbridge, 
is the same as ours, only we generally use 
the East Northbridge station.” 

“I’d like to mighty well ! Maybe next 
Sunday! Has your Dad always been a 
farmer ?” 

“Yes, and he’s a grand farmer. Father 
is! You ought to see him with his live 
stock. There isn’t a calf, or a pup, or a 
chicken, that he doesn’t know as well as 
you know me ; and they know him, too. 
Oh, he’s friendly, is Dad — and he’s brave, 
too !” 

Just as the “B.M.” of the watch was 
beginning to blow the call for prayers, 
Dick turned to Brown and said : 

[ 269 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


“Billy, if I were you, when I got scared 
in the water, I’d just roll right over on 
my back and float, and then wait till the 
scare blew over.” 

“I’ll try it,” said Bill, and slipped down 
the companionway. 


[ 270 ] 


CHAPTER XXIII 


The Four Square Club 

AT prayers the talk turned on fighting, 
and Brown got a little mixed as to 
how you could be friendly and fight at the 
same time. 

“A fellow told me to-day, sir,” said he, 
“that being friendly helps your grit. I 
don’t see how you can fight without grit, 
nor how you can fight and be friendly at 
the same time.” 

“That does seem funny,” answered the 
Chairman, “but haven’t you ever noticed, 
when fellows are fighting, that the fellow 
who gets mad and excited is apt to get the 
worst of it?” 

“Well, I never thought of it, but maybe 
that’s so,” replied Brown. 

[ 271 1 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


“You bet it’s so!” exclaimed Chippie 
Smith. “It’s as bad as losing your wind, 
sir ! You begin to hit wild — I know 
that’s right, Billy!” 

“Of course it is our sacred duty to fight 
at certain times,” went on the Chairman. 
“For instance, our ‘Duty to Our Country’ 
requires it in time of war, just as ‘Our Duty 
to God’ requires us, in addition, to fight 
against temptation every day of our lives. 
But, in both these cases, we are fighting 
for something as well as against something, 
and we are friendly with the something we 
are fighting for, — whether it is our coun- 
try and the folks at home, or whether it 
is the strong and clean man within our- 
selves. When you are fighting with a big, 
friendly feeling in your heart, you can’t 
feel mean and hateful, even to a mean and 
hateful enemy. You will hate the mean- 
ness, but that will only make you sorry for 
the poor devil who is under the control of 
his own weakness; you will keep a clear 
mind and a steady hand, and you will be 
able to give good, strong blows, — straight 
[ 272 ] 


THE FOUR SQUARE CLUB 


from the shoulder. If you get the worst of 
it, you’ll do your best to come up smiling ; 
and, if you punish the other fellow, you 
will shake hands with him right away.” 

“It’s the spirit you fight with, isn’t it, 
sir?” suggested Mr. Miller. 

“Yes,” answered the Chairman, “when 
a man has conquered his own bad temper 
or anger, he becomes able to fight in a 
generous spirit ; and that is probably what 
your friend meant. Brown, when he said 
that being friendly helped you to be brave. 
You see it helps you to keep your mind 
quiet, and so to keep your judgment true 
and your balance even.” 

“My balance! Yes — that’s right,” 
thought Billy to himself, with eagerness, 
thinking of what Ellsworth had been say- 
ing just a little while before. 

They reached their old anchorage at 
Hull at about ten o’clock that evening, 
and the night watch went on duty every 
hour from then on. Most of the boys 
below were so fast asleep that they did not 
hear the rattle of the chain ; but there was 
f 273 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


one who lay awake for some time after, 
and that was Billy Brown. 

The most important of the anchor 
watches is from four to five in the morn- 
ing, because all the lights have to be put 
out at sunrise, in addition to making out 
the log and the other duties. It so hap- 
pened that Dick Gray came on at four 
o’clock, and Tom Sheffield at five. After 
putting out the lights and looking around 
for a while in the early morning light, Dick 
sat down behind the binnacle to write up 
the log. Just as he had finished his task, 
he heard a slight splashing sound in the 
water ; and, by the time he had got amid- 
ships, he noticed a boy’s head swimming 
away from the ship’s side. 

He was so surprised, that — for the 
moment — he did not know what to do ; 
and, as he was trying to make up his mind, 
he saw the boy turn over and float upon 
his back, with his face toward the ship. 
He at once recognized Brown and remem- 
bered the talk they had had the evening 
before. 


[ 274 ] 


THE FOUR SQUARE CLUB 


“ Gee ! the little beggar is testing him- 
self!” thought Dick. “He seems to be 
getting along all right. He’s doing just 
what I told him to, and will soon make 
himself feel at home in the water.” 

Billy didn’t stay on his back long, but 
went on toward a catboat that was moored 
about fifty yards away from the ship. 
As Dick stood watching, the boy’s head 
disappeared behind her bow and then 
reappeared again around her stern; and, 
to Dick’s great satisfaction, he saw that 
Billy was heading back toward the ship. 
But he seemed to like his little manoeuvre 
of rolling on to his back, for he repeated 
it several times on the home stretch. 

“He doesn’t seem to have thought how 
he is going to get back over the side,” 
continued Dick, soliloquizing; “I guess I’d 
better put the side-ladder down for him.” 

Dick was so absorbed in watching the 
swimmer that he almost forgot to ring the 
ship’s bell at five o’clock; and, just as he 
was doing it, Tom crawled sleepily out of 
the companionway and joined him. 

\ 275 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


“What do you s’pose, Tom,” said Dick 
eagerly, but in a low voice, “there’s Billy 
Brown got into the water, unbeknownst 
to any one, five minutes ago, and has swum 
round that boat there, fifty yards off, and 
is swimming back again — rolling over on 
his back every now and then, like an old 
sea-dog, to take a nap. What do you sup- 
pose has got into him?” 

“Dunno,” said Tom, rubbing his eyes. 
“Is he the fellow that nearly drowned 
Chip the other day in a funk?” 

“Sure,” replied Dick, decidedly, “that 
very same. Something must have oiled 
his works inside.” 

“It beats me,” said Tom, and walked 
off to look at the log. 

When Billy got near the ship he noticed 
the side-ladder and gave Dick a grin which 
showed that he appreciated the help. He 
climbed up all dripping and was for grab- 
bing Dick round the waist in his eagerness 
to give vent to his feelings, not only of 
gratitude for the ladder, but of relief at 
the result of his self-imposed test. 

[ 276 ] 


THE FOUR SQUARE CLUB 

“Keep your slimy flippers off me, you 
porpoise!” said Dick and grinned back at 
him with sympathy and pleasure. 

“Well, you’re a good ’un,” said Brown. 
“I should have been in a fix if it hadn’t 
been for the side-ladder. I never thought 
of how I was going to get back.” 

“Get below, now, as quickly as you 
can,” said Dick, “or maybe the anchor 
watch will put you on report.” 

“Don’t say a word,” said Bill; “I got 
special permission from the old man last 
night ! ” 

He then dripped down the companion- 
way to his bunk and managed to escape 
attention, while Dick went forward and 
got a mop to wipe up the pool at the spot 
where they had been talking. 

After the regular morning duties were 
over, the officers met in the cabin to hand 
in their marks in the different branches of 
instruction during the cruise. Then the 
boys were called down, one at a time, to 
submit to a final test, and it was three 
hours before they were all through their 
[ 277 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


examinations. The total result was that 
eleven boys had passed for the rating of 
Ordinary Seaman, five for Able Seaman, 
and half a dozen had received commenda- 
tions in different subjects, — including three 
in advanced swimming. 

Special quarters were held immediately 
after dinner, and the ratings and commen- 
dations given out as a result of the ex- 
amination. 

The sails were then set for the last 
time, all hands called to the windlass, the 
anchor weighed, and the Bright Wing 
quietly dropped down the harbor to her 
berth in the Navy Yard. 

But, before she got there, an important 
matter was settled by the members of the 
Triangle Club, who held their meeting in 
the jib netting. It was Tom who called the 
meeting to order, and Dick explained the 
important change he had noticed early 
that morning in Billy Brown. 

“I tell you what, boys,” said he, “it’s 
no joke for a fellow to break up a habit like 
that, and I’m dead certain that Billy has 
[ 278 ] 


THE FOUR SQUARE CLUB 

made a good start. He’ll make a fine 
swimmer before long, and he’s shown a 
lot of grit. I vote we make him a member.” 

Tom objected at first, as he hadn’t 
known Billy particularly well; but, when 
he realized the struggle that the boy had 
been through, he heartily gave his consent. 

The only difficulty was how to fit a 
fourth member into the “triangle”; and 
finally Dick proposed that they should 
change the name and call it the “Four 
Square Club.” He then pulled a book 
out of his pocket ; and on the fly-leaf 
drew the following device: 


O 




Billy was immediately informed of his 
unanimous election and accepted the honor 
with surprise and delight. 

[ 279 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


“You’ll have to go through your initia- 
tion when we get home ! ” said Chippie 
with a grin. 

Then came a final “sweep down, fore 
and aft’’ to clean up the deck; and, after 
the sails had all been carefully furled and 
the gear stowed away, the last good-bys 
were said and the “Four Square Club” left 
the dock for the station and took the train 
to Northbridge together. Dick went along 
as far as East Northbridge — one station 
nearer — and the last thing he said was : 

“Remember the meeting on Wednesday, 
boys, and we’ll put Bill through the initia- 
tion. Gee!” said he, looking out of the 
window as the train slowed up, “I’ll be 
blowed if that isn’t Dad out there now, 
come to fetch me, with the little mare !” 

Every member of the Club turned to 
gaze at Dick’s father, and watched Dick 
sling his sea-bag into the back of the open 
buggy. Then, as he lightly took his seat, 
the mare, who had been prancing a little, 
gave a slight spring forward, and they 
were off. 


[ 280 ] 


THE FOUR SQUARE CLUB 

“Did you notice,” said Tom to the 
other fellows, “how he gave the mare 
her head ? No hauling and tugging at 
her mouth ! ” 

“Fou het I did!” answered Bill. 


[ 281 ] 


CHAPTER XXIV 
A Guest of the Club 

initiation of Billy took place at 
the old shack on Duck Island a few 
days later; and the first formal meeting 
of the Four Square Club was held imme- 
diately after. 

Tom called the meeting to order as 
usual, and they all four sat down on the 
floor in the customary way ; only this 
time they were careful to sit in the four 
corners of an imaginary square instead 
of in a triangle. In the middle of the 
square thus formed Tom had laid a small 
iron hoop which he had found in the cellar, 
and explained that it was intended as a 
memorial of the manhole in Captain Cra- 
ven’s turret, like the circle in the center 
[ 282 ] 


A GUEST OF THE CLUB 


of the square in the Club emblem, and it 
was voted to use the hoop as a symbol at 
every formal meeting. 

Then the Charter of the Club was read 
by Dick, and, after that, there was a pause 
which Tom was the first to break : 

“Say, fellows, do you remember what 
it was the old Admiral said to George Gray 
about Captain Craven after he had told 
him the story?” 

“I remember,” answered Chippie, “it 
was something about how the Captain had 
been doing the same thing every day, all 
his life, and so he was all prepared to do 
it then.” 

“How’s that?” asked Bill. 

“Why, you know, he had to take an 
oath — the same as we do — and he had 
been working hard to do his duty and keep 
his oath in all his work, no matter what it 
was,” said Tom. 

“And so,” Dick went on, “when it 
suddenly was his duty to get drowned to 
save the other fellow — why, he just kept 
right on, doing his duty, and got drowned !” 

[ 283 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 

“Oh, I see,” said Bill, with a little 
shiver. “Was he friendly with the 
water?” 

“He was friendly enough not to run 
away from it, anyway !” answered Chippie. 

“I say we put that all down in the 
Charter,” exclaimed Dick. 

“Dick!” said Billy earnestly, “I wish 
we could talk to your Dad about that, and 
see what he’d say. You know you said 
I might see him sometime!” 

“That’s a grand idea,” chimed in 
Chippie. “We’ll ask him to come down 
to the next meeting ! What do you think, 
Dick?” 

“Well, he could come down any time 
after working hours,” said Dick reflec- 
tively. “But I tell you what I’d better 
do. I think I’d better tell him all about 
the baseball game and what I did first.” 

“Yes, sir!” replied Bill earnestly, “and 
tell him about my funk and all. The 
more he knows about us the better. What 
do you say, Tom ? ” 

“I say the same thing,” said Tom. 

[ 284 ] 


A GUEST OF THE CLUB 


“What I like about this Club is, that 
we’re all working together for something 
that’s worth while, and that something 
is all in the Charter. But — Gee ! — the 
more I think of it, the bigger it seems to 
me ; and an older fellow, like Dick’s Dad, 
ought to be able to help us a lot.” 

Then the meeting adjourned; and that 
evening at home, Dick had a heart-to- 
heart talk with his father and told him 
everything of importance that had hap- 
pened during the cruise. 

Mr. Gray’s face clouded over when 
Dick made his confession about his foul 
play at second base, but it soon began to 
brighten as Dick spoke of the torment 
which began working inside of him after- 
wards from time to time, and finally the 
revolt of his spirit against any further 
deception when he was about to receive 
the commendation for having saved the 
little girl’s cat. 

“You gained a victory over yourself, 
then, Dick, and I thank God ! There 
has always been a mean streak in you 
[ 285 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 

which showed itself in what we used to 
call your ‘dark moods.’ You conquered 
that mean streak then, and you will be 
able to conquer it again. Have you had 
any of the dark moods since 

“Yes, father, but they have been lighter, 
and I have been able to drive them away 
without much trouble.” 

“Good,” replied his father, “you could 
not have told me anything that would 
have given me more real satisfaction. 
God bless you, and help you to keep on 
the same track.” 

Mr. Gray listened attentively and with 
great interest, also, to the story of Billy 
Brown’s struggle with fears, and every 
now and then asked a brief question to 
make sure that he had understood all that 
had occurred, and all that had been going 
on in the boys’ minds. He had never 
heard the story of Captain Craven before, 
and was delighted with it, as an example 
of the spirit of loyalty to duty and heroic 
courtesy. 

Finally, when Dick explained the reason 
[ 286 ] 


A GUEST OF THE CLUB 


why the boys wanted him to come to their 
next meeting : 

“Sure!” he exclaimed warmly, “I 
wouldn’t miss it, Dick ! I’ll explain it to 
your mother, too, and she wouldn’t have 
me miss it, either ! It means a lot to me 
to see you and these other lads catching 
on — while you are still boys — to ideas 
which it has taken me a lifetime to reach, 
through all kinds of experience, and some 
of it pretty tough, too. You tell the other 
boys that I’ll be there, and that their motto 
means just as much to me as it does to them.” 

At the time of the meeting the follow- 
ing Sunday, Dick had brought over a chair 
for Mr. Gray to sit in while the four boys 
took their accustomed places, and he as- 
sured them that he would be quite ready 
to adopt their charter as a rule of life. 
Then, lowering his voice, and at the same 
time talking more earnestly, he said : 

“Dick has told me, boys, of some of your 
difficulties and victories during this cruise, 
and your desire to carry on the same war- 
[ 287 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


fare against evil, now that you have come 
ashore again. I believe that there is more 
of the man in every one of you than there 
was when you first started on this cruise.” 

“Would you like us to read the Charter, 
sir, before we begin?” asked Tom. “Be- 
cause it’s about that especially that we 
want you to tell us. Say, Bill, you ask 
him what you want to know. But we’ll 
hear the Charter first.” 

So Dick read the Charter through and 
ended with the words: “and so Captain 
Craven gave up his life to do his duty as 
a good scout, and to keep his oath and 
law; and so, to remind them of his brave 
and courteous act, the officers of the navy 
have the custom of saying: ‘After you. 
Pilot’, when one of them steps back to 
make way for another; and also, because 
we want to be reminded of his brave and 
courteous act and faithfulness to his oath 
and law, we — the members of the Four 
Square Club of Duck Island — have written 
out this story to read once in a while, and 
have taken ‘After you. Pilot’, as our motto.” 

[ 288 ] 


A GUEST OF THE CLUB 


After a little pause, Mr. Gray said : 
“What was it. Bill, that you wanted 
especially to know.?” 

Bill felt a little shy, but he was already 
beginning to control his feelings more, and 
so pushed through the shyness and began 
to talk. 

“At the last meeting, sir, Dick was 
saying that there ought to be something 
else in the Charter about how it was that 
Captain Craven was strong enough to do 
the way he did. And the old Admiral, 
when he first told the story to George 
Gray, he said that it was because Captain 
Craven was in the habit of doing his duty 
every day of his life — no matter what it 
was. What do you think of that, sir.?” 

“I think that’s right,” replied Mr. 
Gray, “and it would be a good thing to 
put it in the Charter, because it shows 
that each one of us can be preparing every 
day to do whatever may be required of us 
in an emergency.” 

“‘Be Prepared’ is the Boy Scout motto, 
sir,” said Chippie. 

[ 289 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


“I know it is,” continued Mr. Gray, 
“and ‘Be Prepared’ is the motto to act 
upon every day of our lives, if we want 
to be strong enough to say: ‘After you. 
Pilot’, when we get our chance.” 

“I see that, sir,” answered Bill, “but if 
you want to have grit in the water, you 
have to be friendly with it ; and what I 
wanted to know was, whether Captain 
Craven was friendly with the water, and 
if that was the reason he did not mind 
drowning?” 

Mr. Gray thought for quite a while 
before answering this question ; and, 
while they were waiting in silence for his 
answer, the boys listened to the lapping 
of the little waves on the beach near by. 

“Of course you know. Bill, no one can 
say for certain just what passed through 
that man’s mind; but I, for my part, 
would say that he had done lots of things 
in his life that were harder to do than just 
dying, and that there was no reason for 
his not feeling friendly with the water. I 
think he did.” 


[ 290 1 


A GUEST OF THE CLUB 

“It makes me shiver,” said Bill, “to 
think of getting drowned, in spite of the 
faet that I am able and willing to swim in 
deep water any time; it’s being friendly 
with the water that’s helped me to get my 
balance, but — Captain Craven — he knew 
he was going to drown, so what was the use 
of his keeping his balance?” 

“I guess. Bill, that Captain Craven 
loved the water because he had conquered 
all fear of it years ago, if he ever had any, 
and some of the happiest times of his life 
had been spent in doing his duty at sea. 
But I’m thinking that he had another 
habit that prepared him for this emer- 
gency. If he hadn’t been drowned at that 
time he would have reported to Admiral 
Farragut, his superior officer, every detail of 
the explosion ; and now, — when there was 
no possibility of reporting to the Admiral, 
— he may have thought to himself, ‘this 
drowning will be over in a few minutes, and 
then I’ll report to the Great Captain, whose 
child I am and whose will is my duty, 
wherever I see it.’” 

[ 291 ] 


BOY SCOUTS AT SEA 


“Won’t you come to another of our 
meetings some time, sir?” asked Tom 
after a pause. 

“That I will,” answered Dick’s father, 
“and I tell you what it is, boys; I won’t 
forget this meeting in a hurry, either ! ” 

As they got up and left the shack, the 
sun was just setting. 

“It’s time for ‘colors’,” said Tom, “will 
you give the command, sir?” and all 
stood at attention while Dick slowly low- 
ered the flag. 


Th« End 








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